THE 


HARRY  LEON  WILSON 


.   /  //    / 


1FTING   OFF  HIS  BROAD-BRIMMED 
HAT    TO  HER   IN  A    GRACIOUS   SWEEP 

(See  page  378) 


THE 

LIONS  OF  THE 
LORD 


A    Tale    of    the    Old   West 
By  HARRY  LEON  WILSON 

Author  of  "The  Spenders" 


Illustrated   by  ROSE  CECIL  O'NEILL 


ep*y*y*3^y^^ 

BOSTON 
LOTHROP,  LEE  &  SHEPARD  CO. 


Copyright,    1903, 

By 

LOTHROP   PUBLISHING 
COMPANY. 


839G01 


FOREWORD 

/N  the  days  of  '49  seven  trails  led  from  our 
Western  frontier  into  the  Wonderland  that  lay 
far  out  under  the  setting  sun  and  called  to  the 
restless.  Each  of  the  seven  had  been  biased  mile 
by  mile  through  the  mighty  romance  of  an  empire's 
founding.  Some  of  them  for  long  stretches  are 
now  overgrown  by  the  herbage  of  the  plain;  some 
have  faded  back  into  the  desert  they  lined;  and  more 
than  one  has  been  shod  with  steel.  But  along  them 
all  nit  and  brood  the  menwry-ghosts  of  old,  rich- 
coloured  days.  To  the  shout  of  teamster,  the  yell 
of  savage,  the  creaking  of  tented  ox-cart,  and  the 
rattle  of  the  swifter  mail-coach,  there  go  dim  shapes 
of  those  who  had  thrilled  to  that  call  of  the  West;  — 
strong,  brave  men  with  the  far  look  in  their  eyes, 
with  those  magic  rude  tools  of  the  pioneer,  the  rine 
and  the  axe;  women,  too,  equally  heroic,  of  a  stock, 
fearless,  ready,  and  staunch,  bearing  their  sons  and 
daughters  in  fortitude;  raising  them  to  fear  God,  to 
love  their  country,  —  and  to  labour.  From  the  edge 
of  our  Republic  these  valiant  ones  toiled  into  the 

v 


vi  FOREWORD 

dump  of  prairie  and  mountain  to  live  the  raw  new 
days  and  weld  them  to  our  history;  to  win  fertile 
acres  from  the  wilderness  and  charm  the  desert  to 
blossoming.  And  the  time  of  these  days  and  these 
people,  with  their  tragedies  and  their  comedies,  was 
a  time  of  epic  splendour;  —  more  vital  with  the  stuff 
and  colour  of  life,  I  think,  than  any  since  the  stub 
born  gray  earth  out  there  was  made  to  yield  its 
treasure.  • 

Of  these  seven  historic  highways  the  one  richest  in 
story  is  the  old  Salt  Lake  Trail:  this  because  at  its 
western  end  was  woven  a  romance  within  a  romance; 
—  a  drama  of  human  passions,  of  love  and  hate,  of 
high  faith  and  low,  of  the  beautiful  and  the  ugly,  of 
truth  and  lies;  yet  zvith  certain  fine  fidelities  under 
it  all;  a  drama  so  close-knit,  so  amazingly  true,  that 
one  who  had  lightly  designed  to  make  a  tale  there 
was  dismayed  by  fact.  So  much  more  thrilling  was 
it  than  any  fiction  he  might  have  imagined,  so  more 
than  human  had  been  the  cunning  of  the  Master 
Dramatist,  that  the  little  make-believe  he  was  ponder 
ing  seemed  clumsy  and  poor,  and  he  turned  from  it 
to  try  to  tell  what  had  really  been. 

In  this  story,  then,  the  things  that  are  strangest 
have  most  of  truth.  The  make-believe  is  hardly 
more  than  a  cement  to  join  the  queerly  wrought 
stones  of  fact  that  were  found  ready.  For,  if  the 
writer  has  now  and  again  had  to  divine  certain 
things  that  did  not  show,  —  yet  must  have  been,  — 
surely  these  are  not  less  than  truth.  One  of  these 
deductions  is  the  Lute  of  the  Holy  Ghost  who  came 


FOREWORD  vii 

in  the  end  to  be  the  Little  Man  of  Sorrows:  who 
loved  a  woman,  a  child,  and  his  God,  but  sinned 
through  pride  of  soul;  —  whose  life,  indeed,  was  a 
poem  of  sin  and  retribution.  Yet  not  less  true  was 
he  than  the  Lion  of  the  Lord,  the  Archer  of  Paradise, 
the  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains,  or  the  gaunt,  gray 
woman  whom  hurt  love  had  erased.  For  even  now, 
as  the  tale  is  done,  comes  a  dry  little  note  in  the  daily 
press  telling  how  such  a  one  actually  did  the  other 
day  a  certain  brave,  great  thing  it  had  seemed  the 
imagined  one  must  be  driven  to  do.  Only  he  and  I, 
perhaps,  will  be  conscious  of  the  struggle  back  of 
that  which  was  printed;  but  at  least  we  two  shall 
know  that  the  Little  Man  of  Sorrows  is  true,  even 
though  the  cross  where  he  ned  to  say  his  last  prayer 
in  the  body  has  long  since  fallen  and  its  bars  crum 
bled  to  desert  dust. 

Yet  there  are  others  still  living  in  a  certain  valley 
of  the  mountains  who  will  know  why  the  soul-proud 
youth  came  to  bend  under  invisible  burdens,  and  why 
he  feared,  as  an  angel  of  vengeance,  that  early  cow 
boy  with  the  yellow  hair,  ivho  came  singing  down 
from  the  high  divide  into  Amalon  where  a  girl  was 
waiting  in  her  dream  of  a  single  love;  others  who,  to 
this  day,  will  do  not  more  than  whisper  with  averted 
faces  of  the  crime  that  brought  a  curse  upon  the  land; 
who  still  live  in  terror  of  shapes  that  shuffle  furtively 
behind  them,  fumbling  sometimes  at  their  shoulders 
with  weak  hands,  striving  ever  to  come  in  front  and 
turn  upon  them.  But  these  will  know  only  one  side 


viii  FOREWORD 

of  the  Little  Man  of  Sorrows  who  was  first  the  Lute 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  Poet's  roster  of  titles:  since 
they  have  lacked  his  courage  to  try  the  great  issue 
with  their  God. 

New  York  City,  May  ist,  jpoj. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

I.  THE  DEAD  CITY 

II.  THE  WILD  RAM  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS  . 

III.  THE   LUTE  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST   BREAKS 

His  FAST 

IV.  A  FAIR  APOSTATE 

V.  GILES  RAE  BEAUTIFIES  HIS  INHERITANCE  . 

VI.  THE     LUTE     OF     THE     HOLY     GHOST     is 

FURTHER  CHASTENED        .... 

VII.  SOME    INNER   MYSTERIES  ARE  EXPOUNDED 

VIII.  A    REVELATION    FROM   THE    LORD   AND  A 

TOAST  FROM  BRIGHAM       .... 

IX.  INTO  THE  WILDERNESS         .... 

X.  THE  PROMISED  LAND 

XI.  ANOTHER  MIRACLE  AND  A  TEMPTATION  IN 

THE  WILDERNESS 

XII.  A  FIGHT  FOR  LIFE 

XIII.  JOEL  RAE  is  TREATED  FOR  PRIDE  OF  SOUL 

XIV.  How  THE  SAINTS  WERE  BROUGHT  TO  RE 

PENTANCE   

XV.  How    THE    SOULS    OF    APOSTATES   WERE 

SAVED         

XVI.  THE  ORDER  FROM  HEADQUARTERS 

XVII.  THE  MEADOW  SHAMBLES      .... 

XVIII.  IN  THE  DARK  OF  THE  AFTERMATH     . 

XIX.  THE    HOST    OF    ISRAEL    GOES    FORTH    TO 

BATTLE       

XX.  HOW  THE  LlON  OF  THE  LORD  ROARED  SOFT 

XXI.  THE  BLOOD  ON  THE  PAGE    .... 

XXII.  THE  PICTURE  IN  THE  SKY 


PACK 
II 

19 


30 

47 
62 

77 
90 

100 
109 

122 

I29 
139 
154 

171 


204 
216 
225 

231 

242 
249 
263 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTBR  PAGH 

XXIII.  THE  SINNER  CHASTENS  HIMSELF    .         .     273 

XXIV.  THE  COMING  OF  THE  WOMAN -CHILD    .     284 

XXV.  THE   ENTABLATURE  OF   TRUTH   MAKES 

A  DISCOVERY  AT  AMALON    .        .        .     294 

XXVI.  How    THE    RED    CAME    BACK   TO   THE 

BLOOD  TO  BE  A  SNARE        .        .        .305 

XXVII.  A  NEW  CROSS  TAKEN  UP  AND  AN  OLD 

ENEMY  FORGIVEN          .        .        .        .315 

XXVIII.  JUST  BEFORE  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD    326 

XXIX.  THE    WILD    RAM    OF    THE   MOUNTAINS 

OFFERS   TO   BECOME   A    SAVIOUR    ON 
MOUNT  ZION 336 

XXX.  How   THE   WORLD   DID  NOT  COME   TO 

AN  END 348 

XXXI.  THE  LION  OF  THE  LORD  SENDS  AN  ORDER  361 

XXXII.  A  NEW  FACE  IN  THE  DREAM         .        .  372 

XXXIII.  THE  GENTILE  INVASION  ....  383 

XXXIV.  How  THE  AVENGER  BUNGLED  HIS  VEN 

GEANCE  397 

XXXV.  RUEL  FOLLETT'S  WAY  OF  BUSINESS.      .  408 

XXXVI.  THE  MISSION  TO  A  DESERVING  GENTILE  418 

XXXVII.  THE  GENTILE  ISSUES  AN  ULTIMATUM    .  430 

XXXVIII.  THE   MISSION   SERVICE  IN   Box  CANON 

is  SUSPENDED 441 

XXXIX.  A  REVELATION  CONCERNING  THE  TRUE 

ORDER  OF  MARRIAGE  ....    452 

XL.  A  PROCESSION,  A  PURSUIT,  AND  A  CAP 
TURE  464 

XLI.  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  A  BENT  LITTLE 

PROPHET 477 

XLI  I.  THE  LITTLE  BENT  MAN  AT  THE  FOOT  OF 

THE  CROSS 492 

XLI  1 1.  THE  GENTILE  CARRIES   OFF  His  SPOIL.     510 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PACK 

Lifting  off  his  broad-brimmed  hat  to  her  in  a  gracious 

sweep       .......        Frontispiece 

"  Her  goal  is  Zion,  not  Babylon,  sir  —  remember  that !  "  46 
"  I'm  the  one  will  have  to  be  caught "  .  .  .  .141 
"  But  you're  not  my  really  papa  /  "  .  .  .  .286 
Full  of  zest  for  the  measure  as  any  youth  .  .  -359 

"  Oh,  Man    .    .    .   how  I  've  longed  for  that  bullet  of 

yours/" 399 


THE 

LIONS  OF  THE  LORD 

CHAPTER   I. 

The  Dead  City 

THE  city  without  life  lay  handsomely  along  a 
river  in  the  early  sunlight  of  a  September 
morning.  Death  had  seemingly  not  been 
long  upon  it,  nor  had  it  made  any  scar.  No  breach 
or  rent  or  disorder  or  sign  of  violence  could  be 
seen.  The  long,  shaded  streets  breathed  the  still 
airs  of  utter  peace  and  quiet.  From  the  half-circle 
around  which  the  broad  river  bent  its  moody  cur 
rent,  the  neat  houses,  set  in  cool,  green  gardens, 
were  terraced  up  the  high  hill,  and  from  the  sum 
mit  of  this  a  stately  marble  temple,  glittering  of 
newness,  towered  far  above  them  in  placid  bene 
diction. 

Mile  after  mile  the  streets  lay  silent,  along  the 
river-front,  up  to  the  hilltop,  and  beyond  into  the 
level ;  no  sound  nor  motion  nor  sign  of  life  through 
out  their  length.  And  when  they  had  run  their 

ii 


12  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

length,  and  the  outlying  fields  were  reached,  there, 
too,  was  the  same  brooding  spell  as  the  land 
stretched  away  in  the  hush  and  haze.  The  yellow 
grain,  heavy-headed  with  richness,  lay  beaten  down 
and  rotting,  for  there  were  no  reapers.  The  city, 
it  seemed,  had  died  calmly,  painlessly,  drowsily, 
as  if  overcome  by  sleep. 

From  a  skiff  in  mid-river,  a  young  man  rowing 
toward  the  dead  city  rested  on  his  oars  and  looked 
over  his  shoulder  to  the  temple  on  the  hilltop. 
There  was  something  very  boyish  in  the  reverent 
eagerness  with  which  his  dark  eyes  rested  upon  the 
pile,  tracing  the  splendid  lines  from  its  broad,  gray 
base  to  its  lofty  spire,  radiant  with  white  and  gold. 
As  he  looked  long  and  intently,  the  colour  of  new 
life  flushed  into  a  face  that  was  pinched  and  drawn. 
With  fresh  resolution,  he  bent  again  to  his  oars, 
noting  with  a  quick  eye  that  the  current  had  car 
ried  him  far  down-stream  while  he  stopped  to  look 
upon  the  holy  edifice. 

Landing  presently  at  the  wharf,  he  was  stunned 
by  the  hush  of  the  streets.  This  was  not  like  the 
city  of  twenty  thousand  people  he  had  left  three 
months  before.  In  blank  bewilderment  he  stood, 
turning  to  each  quarter  for  some  solution  of  the 
mystery.  Perceiving  at  length  that  there  was  really 
no  life  either  way  along  the  river,  he  started  won- 
tferingly  up  a  street  that  led  from  the  waterside, 
- —  a  street  which,  when  he  had  last  walked  it,  was 
quickening  with  the  rush  of  a  mighty  commerce. 

Soon  his  expression  of  wonder  was  darkened  by 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD  13 

a  shade  of  anxiety.  There  was  an  unnerving  qual 
ity  in  the  trance-like  stillness;  and  the  mystery 
of  it  pricked  him  to  forebodings.  He  was  now 
passing  empty  workshops,  hesitating  at  door  after 
door  with  ever-mounting  alarm.  Then  he  began 
to  call,  but  the  sound  of  his  voice  served  only  to 
aggravate  the  silence. 

Growing  bolder,  he  tried  some  of  the  doors  and 
found  them  to  yield,  letting  him  into  a  kind  of 
smothered,  troubled  quietness  even  more  oppressive 
than  that  outside.  He  passed  an  empty  ropewalk, 
the  hemp  strewn  untidily  about,  as  if  the  workers 
had  left  hurriedly.  He  peered  curiously  at  idle 
looms  and  deserted  spinning-wheels  —  deserted  ap 
parently  but  the  instant  before  he  came.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  people  were  fled  maliciously  just  in  front, 
to  leave  him  in  this  fearfullest  of  all  solitudes. 
He  wondered  if  he  did  not  hear  their  quick,  furtive 
steps,  and  see  the  vanishing  shadows  of  them. 

He  entered  a  carpenter's  shop.  On  the  bench 
was  an  unfinished  door,  a  plane  left  where  it  had 
been  shoved  half  the  length  of  its  edge,  the  fresh 
pine  shaving  still  curling  over  the  side.  He  left 
with  an  uncanny  feeling  that  the  carpenter,  breath 
ing  softly,  had  watched  him  from  some  hiding-place, 
and  would  now  come  stealthily  out  to  push  his  plane 
again. 

He  turned  into  a  baker's  shop  and  saw  freshly 
chopped  kindling  piled  against  the  oven,  and  dough 
actually  on  the  kneading-tray.  In  a  tanner's  vat 
he  found  fresh  bark.  In  a  blacksmith's  shop  he 


14  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

entered  next  the  fire  was  out,  but  there  was  coal 
heaped  beside  the  forge,  with  the  ladling-pool  and 
the  crooked  water-horn,  and  on  the  anvil  was  a 
horseshoe  that  had  cooled  before  it  was  finished. 

With  something  akin  to  terror,  he  now  turned 
from  this  street  of  shops  into  one  of  those  with  the 
pleasant  dwellings,  eager  to  find  something  alive, 
even  a  dog  to  bark  an  alarm.  He  entered  one  of 
the  gardens,  clicking  the  gate-latch  loudly  after 
him,  but  no  one  challenged.  He  drew  a  drink  from 
the  well  with  its  loud-rattling  chain  and  clumsy, 
water-sodden  bucket,  but  no  one  called.  At  the 
door  of  the  house  he  whistled,  stamped,  pounded, 
and  at  last  flung  it  open  with  all  the  noise  he  could 
make.  Still  his  hungry  ears  fed  on  nothing  but 
sinister  echoes,  the  barren  husks  of  his  own  clamour. 
There  was  no  curt  voice  of  a  man,  no  quick,  ques 
tioning  tread  of  a  woman.  There  were  dead  white 
ashes  on  the  hearth,  and  the  silence  was  grimly 
kept  by  the  dumb  household  gods. 

His  nervousness  increased.  So  vividly  did  his 
memory  people  the  streets  and  shops  and  houses  that 
the  air  was  vibrant  with  sound,  —  low-toned  con 
versations,  shouts,  calls,  laughter,  the  voices  of 
children,  the  creaking  of  wagons,  pounding  ham 
mers,  the  clangour  of  many  works ;  yet  all  muffled 
away  from  him,  as  if  coming  from  some  phantom- 
land.  His  eyes,  too,  were  kept  darting  from  side 
to  side  by  vague  forms  that  flitted  privily  near  by, 
around  corners,  behind  him,  lurking  always  a  little 
beyond  his  eyes,  turn  them  quickly  as  he  would. 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  15 

Now,  facing  the  street,  he  shouted,  again  and  again, 
from  sheer  nervousness;  but  the  echoes  came  back 
alone. 

He  recalled  a  favourite  day-dream  of  boyhood, 
—  a  dream  in  which  he  became  the  sole  person  in 
the  world,  wandering  with  royal  liberty  through 
strange  cities,  with  no  voice  to  chide  or  forbid, 
free  to  choose  and  partake,  as  would  a  prince,  of 
all  the  wonders  and  delights  that  boyhood  can  pic 
ture;  his  own  master  and  the  master  of  all  the 
marvels  and  treasures  of  earth.  This  was  like  the 
dream  come  true;  but  it  distressed  him.  It  was 
necessary  to  find  the,  people  at  once.  He  had  a 
feeling  that  his  instant  duty  was  to  break  some 
malign  spell  that  lay  upon  the  place  —  or  upon 
himself.  For  one  of  them  was  surely  bewitched. 

Out  he  strode  to  the  middle  of  the  street,  between 
two  rows  of  yellowing  maples,  and  there  he  shouted 
again  and  still  more  loudly  to  evoke  some  shape 
or  sound  of  life,  sending  a  full,  high,  ringing  call 
up  the  empty  thoroughfare.  Between  the  shouts 
he  scanned  the  near-by  houses  intently. 

At  last,  half-way  up  the  next  block,  even  as  his 
lungs  filled  for  another  peal,  he  thought  his  eyes 
caught  for  a  short  half-second  the  mere  thin 
shadow  of  a  skulking  figure.  It  had  seemed  to 
pass  through  a  grape  arbour  that  all  but  shielded 
from  the  street  a  house  slightly  more  pretentious 
than  its  neighbours.  He  ran  toward  the  spot,  call 
ing  as  he  went.  But  when  he  had  vaulted  over  the 
low  fence,  run  across  the  garden  and  around  the 


1 6  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

end  of  the  arbour,  dense  with  the  green  leaves  and 
clusters  of  purple  grapes,  the  space  in  front  of  the 
house  was  bare.  If  more  than  a  trick-phantom 
of  his  eye  had  been  there,  it  had  vanished. 

He  stood  gazing  blankly  at  the  front  door  of  the 
house.  Was  it  fancy  that  he  had  heard  it  shut  a 
second  before  he  came?  that  his  nerves  still  re 
sponded  to  the  shock  of  its  closing?  He  had  al 
ready  imagined  so  many  noises  of  the  kind,  so  many 
misty  shapes  fleeing  before  him  with  little  soft  rus 
tlings,  so  many  whispers  at  his  back  and  hushed 
cries  behind  the  closed  doors.  Yet  this  door  had 
seemed  to  shut  more  tangibly,-  with  a  warmer  prom 
ise  of  life.  He  went  quickly  up  the  three  wooden 
steps,  turned  the  knob,  and  pushed  it  open  —  very 
softly  this  time.  No  one  appeared.  But,  as  he  stood 
on  the  threshold,  while  the  pupils  of  his 'eyes  dilated 
to  the  gloom  of  the  hall  into  which  he  looked,  his 
ears  seemed  to  detect  somewhere  in  the  house  a 
muffled  footfall  and  the  sound  of  another  door 
closed  softly. 

He  stepped  inside  and  called.  There  was  no  an 
swer,  but  above  his  head  a  board  creaked.  He 
started  up  the  stairs  in  front  of  him,  and,  as  he 
did  so,  he  seemed  to  hear  cautious  steps  across  a 
bare  floor  above.  He  stopped  climbing;  the  steps 
ceased.  He  started  up,  and  the  steps  came  again. 
He  knew  now  they  came  from  a  room  at  the  head 
of  the  stairs.  He  bounded  up  the  remaining  steps 
and  pushed  open  the  door  with  a  loud  "  Halloo ! " 

The  room  was  empty.     Yet  across  it  there  was 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  17 

the  indefinable  trail  of  a  presence,  —  an  odour,  a 
vibration,  he  knew  not  what,  —  and  where  a  bar 
of  sunlight  cut  the  gloom  under  a  half-raised  cur 
tain,  he  saw  the  motes  in  the  air  all  astir.  Opposite 
the  door  he  had  opened  was  another,  leading,  ap 
parently,  to  a  room  at  the  back  of  the  house.  From 
behind  it,  he  could  have  sworn  came  the  sounds  of 
a  stealthily  moved  body  and  softened  breathing.  A 
presence,  unseen  but  felt,  was  all  about.  Not  with 
out  effort  did  he  conquer  the  impulse  to  look  behind 
him  at  every  breath. 

Determined  to  be  no  longer  eluded,  he  crossed 
the  room  on  tiptoe  and  gently  tried  the  opposite 
door.  It  was  locked.  As  he  leaned  against  it, 
almost  in  a  terror  of  suspense,  he  knew  he  heard 
again  those  little  seemings  of  a  presence  a  door's 
thickness  away.  He  did  not  hesitate.  Still  holding 
the  turned  knob  in  his  hand,  he  quickly  crouched 
back  and  brought  his  flexed  shoulder  heavily  against 
the  door.  It  flew  open  with  a  breaking  sound,  and, 
with  a  little  gasp  of  triumph,  he  was  in  the  room 
to  confront  its  unknown  occupant. 

To  his  dismay,  he  saw  no  one.  He  peered  in 
bewilderment  to  the  farther  side  of  the  room,  where 
light  struggled  dimly  in  at  the  sides  of  a  curtained 
window.  There  was  no  sound,  and  yet  he  could 
acutely  feel  that  presence;  insistently  his  nerves 
tingled  the  warning  of  another's  nearness.  Leaning 
forward,  still  peering  to  sound  the  dim  corners  of 
the  room,  he  called  out  again. 

Then,  from  behind  the  door  he  had  opened,  a 


1 8  THE  LIONS  OF  THE  LORD 

staggering  blow  was  dealt  him,  and,  before  he  could 
recover,  or  had  done  more  than  blindly  crook  one 
arm  protectingly  before  his  face,  he  was  borne 
heavily  to  the  floor,  writhing  in  a  grasp  that  cen 
tered  all  its  crushing  power  about  his  throat. 


CHAPTER   II. 

The  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains 

LIGHT  though  his  figure  was,  it  was  lithe  and 
active  and  well-muscled,  and  he  knew  as  they 
struggled  that  his  assailant  was  possessed  of  no 
greater  advantage  than  had  lain  in  his  point  of 
attack.  In  strength,  apparently,  they  were  well- 
matched.  Twice  they  rolled  over  on  the  carpeted 
floor,  and  then,  despite  the  big,  bony  hands  press 
ing  about  his  throat,  he  turned  his  burden  under 
him,  and  all  but  loosened  the  killing  clutch.  This 
brought  them  close  to  the  window,  but  again  he  was 
swiftly  drawn  underneath.  Then,  as  he  felt  his 
head  must  burst  and  his  senses  were  failing  from 
the  deadly  grip  at  his  throat,  his  feet  caught  in 
the  folds  of  the  heavy  curtain,  and  brought  it  down 
upon  them  in  a  cloud  of  dust. 

As  the  light  flooded  in,  he  saw  the  truth,  even 
before  his  now  panting  and  sneezing  antagonist  did. 
Releasing  the  pressure  from  his  throat  with  a  sud 
den  access  of  strength  born  of  the  new  knowledge, 
he  managed  to  gasp,  though  thickly  and  with  pain, 
as  they  still  strove: 

19 


20  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  Seth  Wright  —  wait  —  let  go  —  wait,  Seth  — 
I'm  Joel  — Joel  Rae!" 

He  managed  it  with  difficulty. 

"Joel  Rae — Rae  —  Rae  —  don't  you  see?" 

He  felt  the  other's  tension  relax.  With  many  a 
panting,  puffing  "  Hey !  "  and  "  What's  that  now  ?  " 
he  was  loosed,  and  drew  himself  up  into  a  chair 
by  the  saving  window.  His  assailant,  a  hale, 
genial-faced  man  of  forty,  sat  on  the  floor  where 
the  revelation  of  his  victim's  identity  had  over 
taken  him.  He  was  breathing  hard  and  feeling 
tenderly  of  his  neck.  This  was  ruffled  ornamentally 
by  a  style  of  whisker  much  in  vogue  at  the  time. 
It  had  proved,  however,  but  an  inferior  defense 
against  the  onslaught  of  the  younger  man  in  his 
frantic  efforts  to  save  his  own  neck. 

They  looked  at  each  other  in  panting  amazement, 
until  the  older  man  recovered  his  breath,  and  spoke : 

"  Gosh  and  all  beeswax !  The  Wild  Ram  of  the 
Mountains  a-settin'  on  the  Lute  of  the  Holy  Ghost's 
stomach  a-chokin'  him  to  death.  My  sakes!  I'm 
a-pantin'  like  a  tuckered  hound  —  a-thinkin'  he  was 
a  cussed  milishy  mobocrat  come  to  spoil  his  house 
hold!" 

The  younger  man  was  now  able  to  speak,  albeit 
his  breathing  was  still  heavy  and  the  marks  of  the 
struggle  plain  upon  him. 

"  What  does  it  mean,  Brother  Wright  —  all  this? 
Where  are  the  Saints  we  left  here  —  why  is  the 
city  deserted  —  and  why  this  —  this  ?  " 

He  shook  back  the  thick,  brown  hair  that  fell 


THE   LIONS   OF    THE   LORD  21 

to  his  shoulders,  tenderly  rubbed  the  livid  finger 
prints  at  his  throat,  and  readjusted  the  collar  of  his 
blue  flannel  shirt. 

"  Thought  you  was  a  milishy  man,  I  tell  you, 
from  the  careless  way  you  hollered  —  one  of  Brock- 
man's  devils  come  back  a-snoopin',  and  I  didn't 
crave  trouble,  but  when  I  saw  the  Lord  appeared 
to  reely  want  me  to  cope  with  the  powers  of  dark 
ness,  why,  I  jest  gritted  into  you  for  the  consolation 
of  Israel.  You'd  'a'  got  your  come-uppance,  too, 
if  you'd  'a'  been  a  mobber.  You  was  nigh  a-ceasin' 
to  breathe,  Joel  Rae.  In  another  minute  I  wouldn't 
V  give  the  ashes  of  a  rye-straw  for  your  part  in 
the  tree  of  life!" 

"  Yes,  yes,  man,  but  go  back  a  little.  Where  are 
our  people,  the  sick,  the  old,  and  the  poor,  that  we 
had  to  leave  till  now?  Tell  me,  quick." 

The  older  man  sprang  up,  the  late  struggle  driven 
from  his  mind,  his  face  scowling.  He  turned  upon 
his  questioner. 

"Does  my  fury  swell  up  in  me?  No  wonder! 
And  you  hain't  guessed  why?  Well,  them  pitiful 
remnant  of  Saints,  the  sick,  the  old,  the  poor,  waitin' 
to  be  helped  yender  to  winter  quarters,  has  been 
throwed  out  into  that  there  slough  acrost  the  river, 
six  hundred  and  forty  of  'em." 

"  When  we  were  keeping  faith  by  going?" 

"  What  does  a  mobocrat  care  for  faith-keepin'  ? 
Have  you  brought  back  the  wagons  ?  " 

'  Yes ;  they'll  reach  the  other  side  to-night.  I 
came  ahead  and  made  the  lower  crossing.  I've  seen 


22  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

nothing  and  heard  nothing.     Go  on  —  tell  me  — 
talk,  man !  " 

"Talk?— -yes,  I'll  talk!  We've  had  mobs  and 
the  very  scum  of  hell  to  boil  over  here.  This  is 
Saturday,  the  I9th,  ain't  it?  Well,  Brockman 
marched  against  this  stronghold  of  Israel  jest  a 
week  ago,  with  eight  hundred  men.  They  had 
cannons  and  demanded  surrender.  We  was  a  scant 
two  hundred  fightin'  men,  and  the  only  artillery 
we  had  was  what  we  made  ourselves.  We  broke 
up  an  old  steamboat  shaft  and  bored  out  the  pieces 
so's  they'd  take  a  six-pound  shot  —  but  we  wasn't 
goin'  to  give  up.  We'd  learned  our  lesson  about 
mobocrat  milishies.  Well,  Brockman,  when  he  got 
our  defy,  sent  out  his  Warsaw  riflemen  as  flankers 
on  the  right  and  left,  put  the  Lima  Guards  to  our 
front  with  one  cannon,  and  marched  his  main  body 
through  that  corn-field  and  orchard  to  the  south 
of  here  to  the  city  lines.  Then  we  had  it  hot. 
Brockman  shot  away  all  his  cannon-balls  —  he  had 
sixty-one  —  and  drew  back  while  he  sent  to  Quincy 
for  more.  He'd  killed  three  of  our  men.  Sunday 
and  Monday  we  swopped  a  few  shots.  And  then 
Tuesday,  along  comes  a  committee  of  a  hundred  to 
negotiate  peace.  Well,  Wednesday  evening  they 
signed  terms,  spite  of  all  I  could  do.  I'd  'a'  fought 
till  the  white  crows  come  a-cawin',  but  the  rest  of 
'em  wasn't  so  het  up  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  I  reckon. 
Anyway,  they  signed.  The  terms  wasn't  reely  set 
till  Thursday  morning,  but  we  knew  they  would 
be,  and  so  all  Wednesday  night  we  was  movin* 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  23 

acrost  the  river,  and  it  kept  up  all  next  day,  — 
day  before  yesterday.  You'd  ought  to  'a'  been  here 
then;  you  wouldn't  wonder  at  my  comin'  down 
on  you  like  a  thousand  of  brick  jest  now,  takin' 
you  for  a  mobocrat.  You'd  'a'  seen  families  druv 
right  out  of  their  homes,  with  no  horses,  tents, 
money,  nor  a  day's  provisions,  —  jest  a  little  fool 
ish  household  stuff  they  could  carry  in  their  hands, 
—  sick  men  and  women  carried  on  beds,  mothers 
luggin'  babies  and  leadin'  children.  My  sakes !  but 
I  did  want  to  run  some  bullets  and  fill  my  old  horn 
with  powder  for  the  consolation  of  Israel !  They're 
lyin'  out  over  there  in  the  slough  now,  as  many  as 
ain't  gone  to  glory.  It  made  me  jest  plumb  mur 
derous!" 

The  younger  man  uttered  a  sharp  cry  of  anguish. 
"  What,  oh,  what  has  been  our  sin,  that  we  must  be 
proved  again  ?  Why  have  we  got  to  be  chastened  ?  " 

"  Then  Brockman's  force  marched  in  Thursday 
afternoon,  and  hell  was  let  loose.  His  devils  have 
plundered  the  town,  thrown  out  the  bedridden  that 
jest  couldn't  move,  thrown  their  goods  out  after 
'em,  burned,  murdered,  tore  up.  You  come  up  from 
the  river,  and  you  ain't  seen  that  yet  —  they  ain't 
touched  the  lower  part  of  town  —  and  now  they're 
bunkin'  in  the  temple,  defacin'  it,  defilin'  it,  —  that 
place  we  built  to  be  a  house  of  rest  for  the  Lord 
when  he  cometh  again.  They  drove  me  acrost  the 
river  yesterday,  and  promised  to  shoot  me  if  I  dast 
show  myself  again.  I  sneaked  over  in  a  skiff  last 
night  and  got  here  to  get  my  two  pistols  and  some 


24  THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

money  and  trinkets  we'd  hid  out.  I  was  goin'  to 
cross  again  to-night  and  wait  for  you  and  the 
wagons." 

"  My  God !  and  this  is  the  nineteenth  century 
in  a  land  of  liberty !  " 

"  State  of  Illinois,  U.  S.  A.,  September  19,  1846 
—  but  what  of  that  ?  We're  the  Lord's  chosen,  and 
over  yender  is  a  generation  of  vipers  warned  to  flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come.  But  they  won't  flee,  and 
so  we're  outcasts  for  the  present,  driven  forth  like 
snakes.  The  best  American  blood  is  in  our  veins. 
We're  Plymouth  Rock  stock,  the  best  New  England 
graft;  the  fathers  of  nine  tenths  of  us  was  at 
Bunker  Hill  or  Valley  Forge  or  Yorktown,  but  what 
of  that,  I  ask  you  ?  " 

The  speaker  became  oratorical  as  his  rage  grew. 

"  What  did  Matty  Van  Buren  say  to  Sidney 
Rigdon  and  Elias  Higbee  when  they  laid  our  cause 
before  him  at  Washington  after  our  Missouri  perse 
cutions  —  when  the  wicked  hatred  of  them  Mis- 
sourians  had  as  a  besom  of  fire  swept  before  it 
into  exile  the  whipped  and  plundered  Saints  of 
Jackson  County  ?  Well,  he  said  :  '  Gentlemen,  your 
cause  is  just,  but  I  can  do  nothing  for  you.'  That's 
what  a  President  of  the  United  States  said  to  de 
scendants  of  Mayflower  crossers  who'd  been  foully 
dealt  with,  and  been  druv  from  their  substance  and 
their  homes,  their  wheat  burned  in  the  stack  and  in 
the  shock,  and  themselves  butchered  or  put  into 
the  wilderness.  And  now  the  Lord's  word  to  this 
people  is  to  gether  out  again." 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD  25 

The  younger  man  had  listened  in  deep  dejection. 

"  Yes,  it's  to  be  the  old  story.  I  saw  it  coming. 
The  Lord  is  proving  us  again.  But  surely  this  will 
be  the  last.  He  will  not  again  put  us  through  fire 
and  blood." 

He  paused,  and  for  a  moment  his  quick  brown 
eyes  looked  far  away. 

"  And  yet,  do  you  know,  Bishop,  I've  thought 
that  he  might  mean  us  to  save  ourselves  against  this 
Gentile  persecution.  Sometimes  I  find  it  hard  to 
control  myself." 

The  Bishop  grinned  appreciatively. 

"  So  I  heer'd.  The  Lute  of  the  Holy  Ghost  got 
too  rambunctious  back  in  the  States  on  the  subject 
of  our  wrongs.  And  so  they  called  you  back  from 
your  mission  ?  " 

"They  said  I  must  learn  to  school  myself;  that 
I  might  hurt  the  cause  by  my  ill-tempered  zeal  — 
and  yet  I  brought  in  many  —  " 

"  I  don  t  blame  you.  I  got  in  trouble  the  first 
and  only  mission  I  went  on,  and  the  first  time  I 
preached,  at  that.  When  I  said,  *  Joseph  was  or 
dained  by  Peter,  James,  and  John,'  a  drunken  wag 
in  the  audience  got  up  and  called  me  a  damned  liar. 
I  started  for  him.  I  never  reached  him,  but  I 
reached  the  end  of  my  mission  right  there.  The 
Twelve  decided  I  was  usefuller  here  at  home.  They 
said  I  hadn't  got  enough  of  the  Lord's  humility 
for  outside  work.  That  was  why  they  put  me  at 
the  head  of  —  that  little  organisation  I  wanted  you 
to  join  last  spring.  And  it's  done  good  work,  too. 


26  THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

You'll  join  now  fast  enough,  I  guess.  You  begin 
to  see  the  need  of  such  doin's.  I  can  give  you  the 
oath  any  time." 

"  No,  Bishop,  I  didn't  mean  that  kind  of  resist 
ance.  It  sounded  too  practical  for  me;  I'm  still 
satisfied  to  be  the  Lute  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

"  You  can  be  a  Son  of  Dan,  too." 

"  Not  yet,  not  yet.  We  must  still  be  a  little  meek 
in  the  face  of  Heaven." 

"  You're  in  a  mighty  poor  place  to  practise  meek 
ness.  What'd  you  cross  the  river  for,  anyway  ?  " 

"  Why,  for  father  and  mother,  of  course.  They 
must  be  safe  at  Green  Plains.  Can  I  get  out  there 
without  trouble?  " 

The  Bishop  sneered. 

"  Be  meek,  will  you?  Well,  mosey  out  to  Green 
Plains  and  begin  there.  It's  a  burned  plains  you'll 
find,  and  Lima  and  Morley  all  the  same,  and  Bear 
Creek.  The  mobbers  started  out  from  Warsaw, 
and  burned  all  in  their  way,  Morley  first,  then  Green 
Plains,  Bear  Creek,  and  Lima.  They'd  set  fire  to 
the  houses  and  drive  the  folks  in  ahead.  They 
killed  Ed  Durfee  at  Morley  for  talkin'  back  to  'em." 

"  But  father  and  mother,  surely  — " 

"  Your  pa  and  ma  was  druv  in  here  with  the 
rest,  like  cattle  to  the  slaughter." 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  they're  over  there  on  the 
river  bank  ?  " 

"  Now,  they's  a  kind  of  a  mystery  about  that  — 
why  they  wa'n't  throwed  out  with  the  rest.  Your 
ma's  sick  abed  —  she  ain't  ever  been  peart  since  the 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  27 

night  your  pa's  house  was  fired  and  they  had  to 
walk  in  —  but  that  ain't  the  reason  they  wa'n't 
throwed  out.  They  put  out  others  sicker.  They 
flung  families  where  every  one  was  sick  out  into 
that  slough.  I  guess  what's  left  of  'em  wouldn't 
be  a  supper-spell  for  a  bunch  of  long-billed  mos 
quitoes.  But  one  of  them  milishy  captains  was 
certainly  partial  to  your  folks  for  some  reason. 
They  was  let  to  stay  in  Phin  Daggin's  house  till 
you  come." 

"  And  Prudence  —  the  Corsons  —  Miss  Pru 
dence  Cor  son  ?  " 

"  Oh,  ho !  So  she's  the  one,  is  she  ?  Now  that 
reminds  me,  mebbe  I  can  guess  the  cute  of  that 
captain's  partiality.  That  girl's  been  kind  of  lookin' 
after  your  pa  and  ma,  and  that  same  milishy  cap 
tain's  been  kind  of  lookin'  after  the  girl.  She  got 
him  to  let  her  folks  go  to  Springfield." 

"But  that's  the  wrong  way." 

"  Well,  now,  I  don't  want  to  spleen,  but  I  never 
did  believe  Vince  Corson  was  anything  more'n  a 
hickory  Saint  —  and  there's  been  a  lot  of  talk  — 
but  you  get  yours  from  the  girl.  If  I  ain't  been 
misled,  she's  got  some  ready  for  you." 

"  Bishop,  will  there  be  a  way  for  us  to  get  into 
the  temple,  for  her  to  be  sealed  to  me?  I've  looked 
forward  to  that,  you  know.  It  would  be  hard  to 
miss  it." 

"  The  mob's  got  the  temple,  even  if  you  got  the 
girl.  There's  a  verse  writ  in  charcoal  on  the 
portal :  — 


28  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  «  Large  house,  tall  steeple, 
Silly  priests,  deluded  people.' 

"  That's  how  it  is  for  the  temple,  and  the  mob's 
bunked  there.  But  the  girl  may  have  changed  her 
mind,  too." 

The  young  man's  expression  became  wistful  and 
gentle,  yet  serenely  sure. 

"  I  guess  you  never  knew  Prudence  at  all  well," 
he  said.  "  But  come,  can't  we  go  to  them  ?  Isn't 
Phin  Daggin's  house  near?  " 

"  You  may  git  there  all  right.  But  I  don't  want 
my  part  taken  out  of  the  tree  of  life  jest  yet.  I 
ain't  aimin'  to  show  myself  none.  Hark !  " 

From  outside  came  the  measured,  swinging  tramp 
of  men. 

"  Come  see  how  the  Lord  is  proving  us  —  and 
step  light." 

They  tiptoed  through  the  other  rooms  to  the 
front  of  the  house. 

"  There's  a  peek-hole  I  made  this  morning  — • 
take  it.  I'll  make  me  one  here.  Don't  move  the 
curtain." 

They  put  their  eyes  to  the  holes  and  were  still. 
The  quick,  rhythmic,  scuffling  tread  of  feet  drew 
nearer,  and  a  company  of  armed  men  marched  by 
with  bayonets  fixed.  The  captain,  a  handsome, 
soldierly  young  fellow,  glanced  keenly  from  right 
to  left  at  the  houses  along  the  line  of  march. 

"  We're  all  right,"  said  the  Bishop,  in  low  tones. 
"  The  cusses  have  been  here  once  —  unless  they 
happened  to  see  us.  They're  startin'  in  now  down 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD  29 

on  the  flat  to  make  sure  no  poor  sick  critter  is  left  in 
bed  in  any  of  them  houses.  Now's  your  chance  if 
you  want  to  git  up  to  Daggin's.  Go  out  the  back 
way,  follow  up  the  alleys,  and  go  in  at  the  back 
when  you  git  there.  But  remember,  VDan  shall  be 
a  serpent  by  the  way,  an  adder  in  the  path  that  biteth 
the  horse  heels,  so  that  his  rider  shall  fall  back 
ward  !  '  In  Clay  County  we  had  to  eat  up  the  last 
mule  from  the  tips  of  his  ears  to  the  end  of  the 
fly-whipper.  Now  we  got  to  pass  through  the 
pinches  again.  We  can't  stand  it  for  ever." 

"  The  spirit  may  move  us  against  it,  Brother 
Seth." 

"  I  wish  to  hell  it  would !  "  replied  the  Bishop. 


CHAPTER   III. 

The  Lute  of  the  Holy  Ghost  Breaks  His  Fast 

IN  his  cautious  approach  to  the  Daggin  house, 
he  came  upon  her  unawares  —  a  slight,  slender, 
shapely  thing  of  pink  and  golden  flame,  as  she 
poised  where  the  sun  came  full  upon  her.  One  hand 
clutched  her  flowing  blue  skirts  snugly  about  her 
ankles;  the  other  opened  coaxingly  to  a  kitten 
crouched  to  spring  on  the  limb  of  an  apple-tree 
above  her.  The  head  was  thrown  back,  the  vivid 
lips  were  parted,  and  he  heard  her  laugh  low  to 
herself.  Near  by  was  a  towering  rose-bush,  from 
which  she  had  broken  the  last  red  rose,  large,  full, 
and  lush,  its  petals  already  loosened.  Now  she 
wrenched  away  a  handful  of  these,  and  flung  them 
upward  at  the  watchful  kitten.  The  scarlet  flecks 
drifted  back  around  her  and  upon  her.  Like  little 
red  butterflies  hovering  in  golden  sunlight,  they 
lodged  in  her  many-braided  yellow  hair,  or  fluttered 
down  the  long  curls  that  hung  in  front  of  her  ears. 
She  laughed  again  under  the  caressing  shower. 
Then  she  tore  away  the  remaining  petals  and  tossed 
them  up  with  an  elf-like  daintiness,  not  at  the 

30 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD  31 

crouched  and  expectant  kitten  this  time,  but  so  that 
the  whole  red  rain  floated  tenderly  down  upon  her 
upturned  face  and  into  the  folds  of  the  white  ker 
chief  crossed  upon  her  breast.  She  waited  for  the 
last  feathery  petal.  Her  hidden  lover  saw  it  lodge 
in  the  little  hollow  at  the  base  of  her  bare,  curved 
throat.  He  could  hold  no  longer. 

Stepping  from  the  covert  that  had  shielded  him, 
he  called  softly  to  her. 

"Prudence  —  Prue!" 

She  had  reached  again  for  the  kitten,  but  at  the 
sound  of  his  low,  vigorous  note,  she  turned  quickly 
toward  him,  colouring  with  a  glow  that  spread  from 
the  corner  of  the  crossed  kerchief  up  to  the  yellow 
hair  above  her  brow.  She  answered  with  quick 
breaths. 

"Joel  — Joel  — Joel!" 

She  laughed  aloud,  clapping  her  small  hands,  and 
he  ran  to  her  —  over  beds  of  marigolds,  heartsease, 
and  lady's-slippers,  through  a  row  of  drowsy-look 
ing,  heavy-headed  dahlias,  and  past  other  wither 
ing  flowers,  all  but  choked  out  by  the  rank  garden 
growths  of  late  summer.  Then  his  arms  opened 
and  seemed  to  swallow  the  leaping  little  figure, 
though  his  kisses  fell  with  hardly  more  weight  upon 
the  yielded  face  than  had  the  rose-petals  a  moment 
since,  so  tenderly  mindful  was  his  ardour.  She 
submitted,  a  little  as  the  pampered  kitten  had  before 
submitted  to  her  own  pettings. 

"  You  dear  old  sobersides,  you  —  how  gaunt  and 
careworn  you  look,  and  how  hungry,  and  what 


32  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

wild  eyes  you  have  to  frighten  one  with!  At  first 
I  thought  you  were  a  crazy  man." 

He  held  her  face  up  to  his  eager  eyes,  having  no 
words  to  say,  overcome  by  the  joy  that  surged 
through  him  like  a  mighty  rush  of  waters.  In 
the  moment's  glorious  certainty  he  rested  until  she 
stirred  nervously  under  his  devouring  look,  and 
spoke. 

"  Come,  kiss  me  now  and  let  me  go." 

He  kissed  her  eyes  so  that  she  shut  them;  then 
he  kissed  her  lips  —  long  —  letting  her  go  at  last, 
grudgingly,  fearfully,  unsatisfied. 

"  You  scare  me  when  you  look  that  way.  You 
mustn't  be  so  fierce." 

"  I  told  him  he  didn't  know  you." 

"Who  didn't  know  me,  sir?" 

"  A  man  who  said  I  wasn't  sure  of  you." 

"  So  you  are  sure  of  me,  are  you,  Mr.  Preacher- 
man?  Is  it  because  we've  been  sweethearts  since 
so  long?  But  remember  you've  been  much  away. 
I've  seen  you  —  let  me  count  —  but  one  little  time 
of  two  weeks  in  three  years.  You  would  go  on  that 
horrid  mission." 

"  Is  not  religion  made  up  of  obedience,  let  life 
or  death  come?  " 

"  Is  there  no  room  for  loving  one's  sweetheart 
in  it?" 

"  One  must  obey,  and  I  am  a  better  man  for 
having  denied  myself  and  gone.  I  can  love  you 
better.  I  have  been  taught  to  think  of  others.  I 
was  sent  to  open  up  the  gospel  in  the  Eastern  States 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  33 

because  I  had  been  endowed  with  almost  the  open 
vision.  It  was  my  call  to  help  in  the  setting  up  of 
the  Messiah's  latter-day  kingdom.  Besides,  we  may 
never  question  the  commands  of  the  holy  priesthood, 
even  if  our  wicked  hearts  rebel  in  secret." 

"If  you  had  questioned  the  right  person  sharply 
enough,  you  might  have  had  an  answer  as  to  why 
you  were  sent." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  How  could  I  have  ques 
tioned?  How  could  I  have  rebelled  against  the 
stepping-stone  of  my  exaltation  ?  " 

His  face  relaxed  a  little,  and  he  concluded  almost 
quizzically : 

"  Was  not  Satan  hurled  from  high  heaven  for 
resisting  authority?" 

She  pouted,  caught  him  by  the  lapels  of  his  coat 
and  prettily  tried  to  shake  him. 

"  There  —  horrid !  —  you're  preaching  again. 
Please  remember  you're  not  on  mission  now.  In 
deed,  sir,  you  were  called  back  for  being  too  — 
too  —  why,  do  you  know,  even  old  Elder  Munsel, 
'  Fire-brand  Munsel,'  they  call  him,  said  you  were 
too  fanatical." 

His  face  grew  serious. 

"  I'm  glad  to  be  called  back  to  you,  at  any  rate, 
—  and  yet,  think  of  all  those  poor  benighted  infidels 
who  believe  there  are  no  longer  revelations  nor 
prophecies  nor  gifts  nor  healings  nor  speaking  with 
tongues,  —  this  miserable  generation  so  blind  in 
these  last  days  when  the  time  of  God's  wrath  is 
at  hand.  Oh,  I  burn  in  my  heart  for  them,  night 


34  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

after  night,  suffering  for  the  tortures  that  must 
come  upon  them  —  thrice  direful  because  they  have 
rejected  the  message  of  Moroni  and  trampled  upon 
the  priesthood  of  high  heaven,  butchering  the  Saints 
of  the  Most  High,  and  hunting  the  prophets  of  God 
like  Ahab  of  old." 

"  Oh,  dear,  please  stop  it !  You  sound  like  swear 
ing  !  "  Her  two  hands  were  closing  her  ears  in 
a  pretty  pretense. 

He  seemed  hardly  to  hear  her,  but  went  on  ex 
citedly  : 

"  Yet  I  have  done  what  man  could  do.  I  am 
never  done  doing.  I  would  gladly  give  my  body  to 
be  burned  a  thousand  times  if  it  would  avail  to 
save  them  into  the  Kingdom.  I  have  preached  the 
word  tirelessly  —  fanatically,  they  say  —  but  only 
as  it  burned  in  my  bones.  I  have  told  them  of 
visions,  dreams,  revelations,  miracles,  and  all  the 
mercies  of  this  last  dispensation.  And  I  have 
prayed  and  fasted.  Just  now  coming  from  winter 
quarters,  when  I  could  not  preach,  I  held  twelve 
fasts  and  twelve  vigils.  You  will  say  it  has  weak 
ened  me,  but  it  has  weakened  only  the  bonds  that 
the  flesh  puts  upon  the  spirit.  Even  so,  I  fell  short 
of  my  vision  —  my  tabernacle  of  flesh  must  have 
been  too  much  profaned,  though  how  I  cannot 
dream  —  believe  me,  I  have  kept  myself  as  high 
and  clean  as  I  knew.  Yet  there  was  promise.  For 
only  last  night  at  the  river  bank,  the  spirit  came 
partially  upon  me.  I  was  taken  with  a  faintness, 
and  I  heard  above  my  head  a  sound  like  the  rustling 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  35 

of  silken  robes,  and  the  spirit  of  God  hovered  over 
me,  so  that  I  could  feel  its  radiance.  All  in  good 
time,  then,  it  shall  dwell  within  me,  so  that  I  may 
know  a  way  to  save  the  worthy." 

He  grasped  her  wrist  and  bent  eagerly  forward, 
with  the  same  wild  look  in  his  eyes  that  had  before 
disquieted  her. 

"  Mark  what  I  say  now  —  I  shall  do  great  works 
for  this  generation;  I  am  strangely  favoured  of 
God;  I  have  felt  the  spirit  quicken  wondrously 
within  me,  and  I  know  the  Lord  works  not  in  vain ; 
what  great  wonder  of  grace  I  shall  do,  what  mira 
cle  of  salvation,  I  know  not,  but  remember,  it  shall 
be  transcendent;  tell  it  to  no  one,  but  I  know  in 
my  inner  secret  heart  it  shall  be  a  greater  work 
than  man  hath  yet  done." 

He  stopped  and  drew  himself  up,  shaking  his 
head,  as  if  to  shrug  off  the  spell  of  his  own  feeling. 

"  Now,  now !  stop  it  at  once,  and  come  to  the 
house.  I've  been  tending  your  father  and  mother, 
and  I'm  going  to  tend  you.  What  you  need  di 
rectly  is  food.  Your  look  may  be  holy,  but  I  pre 
fer  full  cheeks.  Not  another  word  until  you  have 
eaten  every  crumb  I  put  before  you." 

With  an  air  of  captor,  daintily  fierce,  she  led 
him  toward  the  house  and  up  to  the  door,  which  she 
pushed  open  before  him. 

"  Come  softly,  your  mother  may  be  still  asleep  — 
no,  your  father  is  talking  —  listen !  " 

A  querulous  voice,  rough  with  strong  feeling, 
came  from  the  inner  room. 


36  THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

"  Here,  I  tell  you,  is  the  prophecy  of  Joseph  to 
prove  it,  away  back  in  1832 :  '  Verily  thus  saith 
the  Lord  concerning  the  wars  that  will  shortly  come 
to  pass,  beginning  at  the  rebellion  of  South  Caro 
lina,  which  will  terminate  in  the  death  and  misery 
of  many  souls.  The  days  will  come  that  war  will 
be  poured  out  upon  all  nations,  beginning  at  that 
place;  for  behold,  the  Southern  States  shall  be 
divided  against  the  Northern  States,  and  the  South 
ern  States  will  call  on  other  nations,  even  the  nation 
of  Great  Britain,  as  it  is  called.'  Now  will  you 
doubt  again,  mother?  For  persecuting  the  Saints 
of  the  most  high  God,  this  republic  shall  be  dashed 
to  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel.  But  we  shall  be  safe. 
The  Lord  will  gather  Israel  home  to  the  chambers 
of  the  mountains  against  the  day  of  wrath  that  is 
coming  on  the  Gentile  world.  For  all  flesh  hath 
corrupted  itself  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  but  the 
Saints  shall  possess  a  purified  land,  upon  which 
there  shall  be  no  curse  when  the  Lord  cometh. 
Then  shall  the  heavens  open  — " 

He  broke  off,  for  the  girl  came  leading  in  the 
son,  who,  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  white-haired  old 
man  with  his  open  book,  sitting  beside  the  wasted 
woman  on  the  bed,  flew  to  them  with  a  glad  cry. 

They  embraced  him  and  smoothed  and  patted 
him,  tremulously,  feebly,  with  broken  thanks  for 
his  safe  return.  The  mother  at  last  fell  back  upon 
her  pillow,  her  eyes  shining  with  the  joy  of  a  great 
relief,  while  the  father  was  seized  with  a  fit  of 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD  37 

coughing  that  cruelly  racked  his  gaunt  frame  and 
left  him  weak  but  smiling. 

The  girl  had  been  placing  food  upon  the  table. 

"  Come,  Joel,"  she  urged,  "  you  must  eat  —  we 
have  all  breakfasted,  so  you  must  sit  alone,  but 
we  shall  watch  you." 

She  pushed  him  into  the  chair  and  filled  his  plate, 
in  spite  of  his  protests. 

"  Not  another  word  until  you  have  eaten  it  all." 

"  The  very  sight  of  it  is  enough.  I  am  not 
hungry." 

But  she  coaxed  and  commanded,  with  her  hands 
upon  his  shoulders,  and  he  let  himself  be  persuaded 
to  taste  the  bread  and  meat.  After  a  few  mouthfuls, 
taken  with  obvious  disrelish,  she  detected  the  awak 
ening  fervour  of  a  famished  man,  and  knew  she 
would  have  to  urge  no  more. 

As  the  son  ate,  the  girl  busied  herself  at  the 
mother's  pillow,  while  the  father  talked  and  rumi 
nated  by  intervals,  —  a  text,  a  word  of  cheer  to 
the  wasted  mother,  incidents  of  old  days,  memories 
of  early  revivals.  In  1828,  he  had  hailed  Dylkes, 
the  "  Leatherwood  God,"  as  the  real  Messiah. 
Then  he  had  been  successively  a  Freewill  Baptist, 
a  Winebrennerian,  a  Universalist,  a  Disciple,  and 
finally  an  eloquent  and  moving  preacher  in  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  Now 
he  was  a  wild-eyed  old  dreamer  with  a  high,  nar 
row  forehead  depressed  at  the  temples,  enfeebled, 
living  much  in  the  past.  Once  his  voice  would  be 


38  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

low,  as  if  he  spoke  only  to  himself ;  again  it  would 
rise  in  warning  to  an  evil  generation. 

"  The  end  of  the  world  is  at  hand,  laddie,"  he 
began,  after  looking  fondly  at  his  son  for  a  time. 
"  Joseph  said  there  are  those  now  living  who  shall 
not  taste  of  death  till  Jesus  comes.  And  then,  oh, 
then  —  the  great  white  day!  There  is  strong  de 
lusion  among  the  wicked  in  the  day  in  which  we 
live,  but  the  seed  of  Abraham,  the  royal  seed,  the 
blessed  seed  of  the  Lord,  shall  be  told  off  to  its 
separate  glory.  The  Lord  will  spread  the  curtains 
of  Zion  and  gather  it  out  to  the  fat  valleys  of 
Ephraim,  and  there,  with  resurrected  bodies  it  shall 
possess  the  purified  earth.  I  shall  be  away  for  a 
time  before  then,  laddie  —  and  the  dear  mother 
here.  Our  crowns  have  been  earned  and  will  not 
long  be  withheld.  But  you  will  be  there  for  the 
glory  of  it,  and  who  more  deserves  it?" 

"  I  pray  to  be  made  worthy  of  the  exaltation, 
Father." 

"  You  are,  laddie.  The  word  and  the  light  came 
to  me  when  I  preached  another  faith  —  for  the 
spirit  of  Thomas  Campbell  had  aforetime  moved 
me  —  but  you,  laddie,  you  have  been  bred  in  the 
word  and  the  truth.  The  Lord,  as  a  mark  of  his 
favour,  has  kept  you  from  the  contamination  of 
doubters,  infidels,  heretics,  and  apostates.  You 
have  been  educated  under  the  care  of  the  priesthood, 
close  here  in  Nauvoo  the  Beautiful,  and  who  could 
more  deserve  the  fulness  of  thrones,  dominions,  and 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD  39 

of  power  —  who  of  all  those  whose  number  the 
after-time  shall  unfold?" 

He  turned  appealingly  to  the  mother,  whose 
fevered  eyes  rested  fondly  upon  her  boy  as  she 
nodded  confirmation  of  the  words. 

"  Did  he  not  march  all  the  way  from  Kirtland 
to  Missouri  with  us  in  '34  —  the  youngest  soldier 
in  the  whole  army  of  Zion?  How  old,  laddie?  — 
twelve,  was  it  ?  —  so  he  marched  a  hundred  miles 
for  every  one  of  his  little  years  —  and  so  valiant 
—  none  more  so  —  begging  us  to  hasten  and  give 
battle  so  he  could  fight  upon  the  Lord's  side. 
Twelve  hundred  miles  he  walked  to  put  back  in  their 
homes  the  persecuted  Saints  of  Jackson  County. 
But,  ah!  There  he  saw  liberty  strangled  in  her 
sanctuary.  Do  you  mind,  laddie,  how  in  '38  we 
were  driven  by  the  mob  from  Jackson  across  the 
river  into  Clay  County?  how  they  ran  off  our  cattle, 
stole  our  grain  ?  how  your  poor  old  mother's  mother 
died  from  exposure  that  night  in  the  rain  and  sleet  ? 
how  we  lived  on  mast  and  corn,  the  winter,  in  tents 
and  a  few  dugouts  and  rickety  huts  —  we  who  had 
the  keys  of  St.  Peter  and  the  gifts  of  the  apostolic 
age?  Do  you  mind  the  sackings  and  burnings  at 
Adam-Ondi-Ahman  ?  Do  you  mind  the  wife  of 
Joseph's  brother,  Don  Carlos,  she  that  was  made  by 
the  soldiers  to  wade  Grand  River  with  two  help 
less  babes  in  her  arms?  They  would  not  even  let 
her  warm  herself,  before  she  started,  at  the  flames 
of  her  own  hut  they  had  fired.  And,  laddie,  you 
mind  Haun's  mill.  Ah,  the  bloody  day !  —  you 


40  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

were  there,  and  one  other,  the  sister,  happy,  beauti 
ful  as  her  in  the  Song  of  Songs,  when  the  brutes 
came  —  " 

"  Don't,  father  —  stop  there  —  you  are  making 
my  throat  shut  against  the  food." 

"  Then  you  came  to  Far  West  in  time  to  see 
Joseph  and  his  brethren  sold  to  the  mobocrats  by 
that  devil's  traitor,  Hinkle,  —  you  saw  the  fleeing 
Saints  forced  to  leave  their  all,  hunted  out  of  Mis 
souri  into  Illinois  —  their  houses  burned,  the  cattle 
stolen,  their  wives  and  daughters  —  " 

"  Don't,  father !  Be  quiet  again.  You  and 
mother  must  be  fit  for  our  journey,  as  fit  as  we 
younger  folk." 

He  glanced  fondly  across  the  table,  where  the 
girl  had  leaned  her  chin  in  her  hands  to  watch  him, 
speculatively.  She  avoided  his  eyes. 

'  Yes,  yes,"  assented  the  old  man,  "  and  you 
know  of  our  persecutions  here  —  how  we  had  to 
finish  the  temple  with  our  arms  by  our  sides,  even 
as  the  faithful  finished  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  — 
and  how  we  were  driven  out  by  night  —  " 

"Quiet,  father!" 

"  Yes,  yes.  Ah,  this  gathering  out !  How  far 
shall  we  go,  laddie?" 

"  Four  hundred  miles  to  winter  quarters.  From 
there  no  one  yet  knows,  —  a  thousand,  maybe  two 
thousand." 

"  Aye,  to  the  Rockies  or  beyond,  even  to  the 
Pacific.  Joseph  prophesied  it  —  where  we  shall  be 
left  in  peace  until  the  great  day." 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  41 

The  young  man  glanced  quickly  up. 

"  Or  have  time  to  grow  mighty,  if  we  should 
not  be  let  alone.  Surely  this  is  the  last  time  the 
Lord  would  have  us  meek  under  the  mob." 

"  Ho,  ho !  As  you  were  twelve  years  ago,  trudg 
ing  by  my  side,  valiant  to  fight  if  the  Lord  but 
wills  it!  But  have  no  fear,  boy.  This  time  we 
go  far  beyond  all  that  may  tempt  the  spoiler.  We 
go  into  the  desert,  where  no  humans  are  but  the 
wretched  red  Lamanites;  no  beasts  but  the  wild 
ones  of  four  feet  to  hunger  for  our  flesh;  no  ver 
dure,  no  nourishment  to  sustain  us  save  the  manna 
from  on  high,  —  a  region  of  unknown  perils  and 
unnamed  deserts.  Truly  we  make  the  supreme  test. 
I  do  not  overcolour  it.  Prudence,  hand  me  yonder 
scrap-book,  there  on  the  secretary.  Here  I  shall 
read  you  the  words  of  no  less  a  one  than  Senator 
Daniel  Webster  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  but  a 
few  months  agone.  He  spoke  on  the  proposal  to 
fix  a  mail-route  from  Missouri  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River  in  that  far-off  land.  Hear  this 
great  man  who  knows  whereof  he  speaks.  He  is 
very  bitter.  '  What  do  we  want  with  this  vast, 
worthless  area  —  this  region  of  savages  and  wild 
beasts,  of  deserts,  of  shifting  sands  and  whirlwinds 
of  dust,  of  cactus  and  prairie-dogs?  To  what  use 
could  we  ever  hope  to  put  these  great  deserts  or 
those  endless  mountain  ranges,  impenetrable  and 
covered  to  their  very  base  with  eternal  snows? 
What  can  we  ever  hope  to  do  with  that  Western 
coast,  a  coast  of  three  thousand  miles,  rock-bound, 


42  THE  LIONS   OF  THE  LORD 

cheerless,  uninviting,  and  not  a  harbour  on  it.  Mr. 
President,  I  will  never  vote  one  cent  from  the  pub 
lic  treasury  to  place  the  Pacific  Coast  one  inch  nearer 
to  Boston  than  it  now  is ! ' 

The  girl  had  been  making  little  impatient  flights 
about  the  room,  as  if  awaiting  an  opportunity  to 
interrupt  the  old  man's  harangue,  but  even  as  she 
paused  to  speak,  he  began  again : 

"  There,  laddie,  do  you  hear  him  ?  —  arid  deserts, 
shifting  sand,  snow  and  ice,  wild  beasts  and  wilder 
men  —  that  is  where  Israel  of  the  last  days  shall 
be  hidden  to  wait  for  the  second  coming  of  God's 
Christ.  There,  having  received  our  washings  and 
anointings  in  the  temple  of  God  on  earth,  we  shall 
wait  unmolested,  and  spread  the  curtains  of  Zion 
in  due  circumspection.  And  what  a  migration  to 
be  recorded  in  another  sacred  history  ages  hence! 
Surely  the  blood  of  our  martyred  Prophet  hath  not 
smoked  to  heaven  in  vain.  Where  is  there  a  par 
allel  to  this  hegira?  They  from  Egypt  went  from 
a  heathen  land,  a  land  of  idolatry,  to  a  fertile  home 
chosen  for  them  by  the  Lord.  But  we  go  from 
a  fair,  smiling  land  of  plenty  and  pretended  Chris 
tianity  into  the  burning  desert.  They  have  driven 
us  to  the  edge;  now  they  drive  us  in.  But  God 
works  his  way  among  the  peoples  of  earth,  and  we 
are  strong.  Who  knows  but  that  we  shall  in  our 
march  throw  up  a  highway  of  holiness  to  the  ris 
ing  generation?  So  let  us  round  up  our  backs  to 
the  burden ! " 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  43 

"  Amen !  "  replied  the  young  man  fervently,  as 
he  rose  from  the  table. 

"  And  now  we  must  be  about  our  preparations 
for  the  journey.  The  time  is  short  —  who  is  that?  " 

He  sprang  to  the  door.  Outside,  quick  steps  were 
heard  approaching.  The  girl,  who  had  risen  in 
some  confusion,  stood  blushing  and  embarrassed 
before  him.  The  mother  rose  feebly  on  her  elbow 
to  reassure  him. 

"  'Tis  Captain  Girnway,  laddie.     Have  no  alarm 

—  he  has  befriended  us.     But  for  him  we  should 
have  been  put  out  two  days  ago,  without  shelter  and 
without  care.     He  let  us  be  housed  here  until  you 
should  come." 

There  was  a  knock  at  the  door,  but  Joel  stood 
with  his  back  to  it.  The  words  of  Seth  Wright 
were  running  roughshod  through  his  mind.  He 
looked  sharply  at  Prudence. 

"  A  mobocrat  —  our  enemy  —  and  you  have 
taken  favours  from  him  —  a  minion  of  the  devil  ? 

—  shame!" 

The  girl  looked  up. 

"  He  was  kind ;  you  don't  realise  that  he  has 
probably  saved  their  lives.  Indeed,  you  must  let 
him  in  and  thank  him/' 

"  Not  I !  " 

The  mother  interposed  hurriedly. 

'  Yes,  yes,  laddie!  You  know  not  how  high 
handed  they  have  been.  They  expelled  all  but  us, 
and  some  they  have  maltreated  shamefully.  This 
one  has  been  kind  to  us.  Open  the  door." 


44  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  I  dare  not  face  him  —  I  may  not  contain  my 
self!" 

The  knock  was  repeated  more  loudly.  The  girl 
went  up  to  him  and  put  her  hands  on  his  shoulders 
to  draw  him  away. 

"  Be  reasonable,"  she  pleaded,  in  low  tones,  "  and 
above  all,  be  polite  to  him." 

She  put  him  gently  aside  and  drew  back  the 
door.  On  the  threshold  smiled  the  young  captain 
he  had  watched  from  the  window  that  morning, 
marching  at  the  head  of  his  company.  His  cap 
was  doffed,  and  his  left  hand  rested  easily  on  the 
hilt  of  his  sword.  He  stepped  inside  as  one  sure 
of  his  welcome. 

"  Good  morning,  Miss  Prudence,  good  morning, 
Mr.  Rae,  good  morning,  madam  —  good  morn 
ing—" 

He  looked  questioningly  at  the  stranger.  Pru 
dence  stepped  forward. 

"  This  is  Joel  Rae,  Captain  Girnway." 

They  bowed,  somewhat  stiffly.  Each  was  dark. 
Each  had  a  face  to  attract  women.  But  the  captain 
was  at  peace  with  the  world,  neatly  uniformed, 
well-fed,  clean-shaven,  smiling,  pleasant  to  look 
upon,  while  the  other  was  unshaven,  hollow-cheeked, 
gaunt,  roughly  dressed,  a  thing  that  had  been 
hunted  and  was  now  under  ban.  Each  was  at  once 
sensible  of  the  contrast  between  them,  and  each  was 
at  once  affected  by  it:  the  captain  to  a  greater 
jauntiness,  a  more  effusive  affability;  the  other  to 
a  stonier  sternness. 


THE  LIONS  OF  THE  LORD          45 

"  I  am  glad  to  know  you  have  come,  Mr.  Rae. 
Your  people  have  worried  a  little,  owing  to  the 
unfortunate  circumstances  in  which  they  have  been 
placed." 

"I  —  I  am  obliged  to  you,  sir,  in  their  behalf, 
for  your  kindness  to  my  father  and  mother  and  to 
Miss  Corson  here." 

"  You  are  a  thousand  times  welcome,  sir.  Can 
you  tell  me  when  you  will  wish  to  cross  the  river?  " 

"  At  the  very  earliest  moment  that  God  and  the 
mob  will  let  us.  To-morrow  morning,  I  hope." 

"  This  has  not  been  agreeable  to  me,  believe 
me  — 

"  Far  less  so  to  us,  you  may  be  sure ;  but  we  shall 
be  content  again  when  we  can  get  away  from  all 
your  whiggery,  democratism,  devilism,  mobism !  " 

He  spoke  with  rising  tones,  and  the  other  flushed 
noticeably  about  the  temples. 

"  Have  your  wagons  ready  to-morrow  morning, 
then,  Mr.  Rae  —  at  eight?  Very  well,  I  shall  see 
that  you  are  protected  to  the  ferry.  There  has  been 
so  much  of  that  tone  of  talk,  sir,  that  some  of  our 
men  have  resented  it." 

He  turned  pleasantly  to  Prudence. 

"  And  you,  Miss  Prudence,  you  will  be  leaving 
Nauvoo  for  Springfield,  I  suppose.  As  you  go  by 
Carthage,  I  shall  wish  to  escort  you  that  far  myself, 
to  make  sure  of  your  safety." 

The  lover  turned  fiercely,  seizing  the  girl's  wrist 
and  drawing  her  toward  him  before  she  could  an 
swer. 


46  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  Her  goal  is  Zion,  not  Babylon,  sir  —  remember 
that! " 

She  stepped  hastily  between  them. 

"  We  will  talk  of  that  to-morrow,  Captain,"  she 
said,  quickly,  and  added,  "  You  may  leave  us  now 
for  we  have  much  to  do  here  in  making  ready  for 
the  start." 

"  Until  to-morrow  morning,  then,  at  eight." 

He  bowed  low  over  the  hand  she  gave  him,  grace 
fully  saluted  the  others,  and  was  gone. 


"  LJER    GOAL    IS  ZION,    NOT 
ri      BABYLON,   SIR  — REMEMBER   THAT 


CHAPTER   IV. 

A  Fair  Apostate 

SHE  stood  flushed  and  quick-breathing  when  the 
door  had  shut,  he  bending  toward  her  with 
dark  inquiry  in  his  eyes.  Before  she  spoke, 
he  divined  that  under  her  nervousness  some  reso 
lution  lay  stubbornly  fixed. 

"  Let  us  speak  alone,"  she  said,  in  a  low  voice. 
Then,  to  the  old  people,  "  Joel  and  I  will  go  into 
the  garden  awhile  to  talk.  Be  patient." 

"  Not  for  long,  dear ;  our  eyes  are  aching  for 
him." 

"  Only  a  little  while,"  and  she  smiled  back  at 
them.  She  went  ahead  through  the  door  by  which 
they  had  first  entered,  and  out  into  the  garden  at 
the  back  of  the  house.  He  remembered,  as  he  fol 
lowed  her,  that  since  he  had  arrived  that  morning 
she  had  always  been  leading  him,  directing  him 
as  if  to  a  certain  end,  with  the  air  of  meaning  pres 
ently  to  say  something  of  moment  to  him. 

They  went  past  the  rose-bush  near  which  she 
had  stood  when  he  first  saw  her,  and  down  a  walk 

47 


48  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

through  borders  of  marigolds.  She  picked  one  of 
the  flowers  and  fixed  it  in  his  coat. 

"  You  are  much  too  savage  —  you  need  a  posy 
to  soften  you.  There!  Now  come  to  this  seat." 

She  led  him  to  a  rustic  double  chair  under  the 
heavily  fruited  boughs  of  an  apple-tree,  and  made 
him  sit  down.  She  began  with  a  vivacious  play 
fulness,  poorly  assumed,  to  hide  her  real  feeling. 

"  Now,  sobersides,  it  must  end  —  this  foolishness 
of  yours  —  " 

She  stopped,  waiting  for  some  question  of  his 
to  help  her.  But  he  said  nothing,  though  she  could 
feel  the  burning  of  his  eyes  upon  her. 

"  This  superstitious  folly,  you  know,"  she  blurted 
out,  looking  up  at  him  in  sudden  desperation. 

''  Tell  me  what  you  mean  —  you  must  know  I'm 
impatient." 

She  essayed  to  be  playful  again,  pouting  her 
dimpled  face  near  to  his  that  he  might  kiss  her.  But 
he  did  not  seem  to  see.  He  only  waited. 

"  Well  —  this   religion  —  this   Mormonism  —  " 

She  shot  one  swift  look  at  him,  then  went  on 
quickly. 

"  My  people  have  left  the  church,  and  —  I  — 
too  —  they  found  things  in  Joseph  Smith's  teach 
ings  that  seemed  bad  to  them.  They  went  to 
Springfield.  I  would  have  gone,  too,  but  I  told  them 
I  wanted  first  to  see  you  and  —  and  see  if  you  would 
not  come  with  us  —  at  least  for  awhile,  not  taking 
the  poor  old  father  and  mother  through  all  that 
wretchedness.  They  consented  to  let  me  stay  with 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD  49 

your  parents  on  condition  that  Captain  Girnway 
would  protect  them  and  me.  He  —  he  —  is  very 
kind  —  and  had  known  us  since  last  winter  and  had 
seen  me  —  us  —  several  times.  I  hadn't  the  heart 
to  tell  your  father ;  he  was  so  set  on  going  to  the  new 
Zion,  but  you  will  come,  won't  you?  " 

"  Wait  a  moment !  "  He  put  a  hand  upon  her 
arm  as  if  to  arrest  her  speech.  '  You  daze  me.  Let 
me  think."  She  looked  up  at  him,  wondering  at  his 
face,  for  it  showed  strength  and  bitterness  and  gen 
tleness  all  in  one  look  —  and  he  was  suffering.  She 
put  her  hand  upon  his,  from  an  instinct  of  pity. 
The  touch  recalled  him. 

"  Now  —  for  the  beginning."  He  spoke  with 
aroused  energy,  a  little  wistful  smile  softening  the 
strain  of  his  face.  "  You  were  wise  to  give  me  food, 
else  I  couldn't  have  solved  this  mystery.  To  the 
beginning,  then :  You,  Prudence  Corson,  betrothed 
to  me  these  three  years  and  more;  you  have 
been  buried  in  the  waters  of  baptism  and  had  your 
washings  and  anointings  in  the  temple  of  the  most 
high  God.  Is  it  not  so?  Your  eyes  were  anointed 
that  they  might  be  quick  to  see,  your  ears  that  they 
might  be  apt  at  hearing,  your  mouth  that  you 
might  with  wisdom  speak  the  words  of  eternal  life, 
and  your  feet  that  they  might  be  swift  to  run  in  the 
ways  of  the  Lord.  You  accepted  thereby  the  truth 
that  the  angel  of  God  had  delivered  to  Joseph  Smith 
the  sealing  keys  of  power.  You  accepted  the  glori 
ous  articles  of  the  new  covenant.  You  were  about 
to  be  sealed  up  to  me  for  time  and  eternity.  Now 


50  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

—  I  am  lost  —  what  is  it  ?  —  your  father  and 
mother  have  left  the  church,  and  because  of  what  ?  " 

"  Because  of  bad  things,  because  of  this  doctrine 
they  practise  —  this  wickedness  of  spiritual  wives, 
plural  wives.  Think  of  it,  Joel  —  that  if  I  were 
your  wife  you  might  take  another." 

"  I  need  not  think  of  it.  Surely  you  know  my 
love.  You  know  I  could  not  do  that.  Indeed 
I  have  heard  at  last  that  this  doctrine  so  long 
gossiped  of  is  a  true  one.  But  I  have  been  away 
and  am  not  yet  learned  in  its  mysteries.  But  this 
much  I  do  know  —  and  it  is  the  very  corner-stone 
of  my  life :  Peter,  James,  and  John  ordained  Joseph 
Smith  here  on  this  earth,  and  Joseph  ordained  the 
twelve.  All  other  churches  have  been  established 
by  the  wisdom  or  folly  of  man.  Ours  is  the  only 
one  on  earth  established  by  direct  revelation  from 
God.  It  has  a  priesthood,  and  that  priesthood  is  a 
power  we  must  reverence  and  obey,  no  matter  what 
may  be  its  commands.  When  the  truth  is  taught 
me  of  this  doctrine  you  speak  of,  I  shall  see  it  to 
be  right  for  those  to  whom  it  is  ordained.  And 
meantime,  outside  of  my  own  little  life  —  my  love 
for  you,  which  would  be  always  single  —  I  can't 
measure  the  revealed  will  of  God  with  my  little 
moral  foot-rule.  Joseph  was  endowed  with  the 
open  vision.  He  saw  God  face  to  face  and  heard 
His  voice.  Can  the  standards  of  society  in  its 
present  corruption  measure  and  pass  upon  the  rev 
elations  of  so  white-souled  a  man  ?  " 

"  I  believe  he  was  not  white-souled,"  she  replied, 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  51 

in  a  kind,  animated  way,  as  one  who  was  bent  upon 
saving  him  from  error.  "  I  told  you  I  knew  why 
you  were  sent  away  on  mission.  It  was  because 
you  were  my  accepted  lover  —  and  your  white- 
souled  Joseph  Smith  wanted  me  for  himself." 

"  I  can't  believe  it  —  you  couldn't  know  such 
a  thing  "  —  his  faith  made  a  brave  rally  —  "  but 
even  so,  if  he  sought  you,  why,  the  more  honour 
to  you  —  and  to  me,  if  you  still  clung  to  me." 

"  Listen.  I  was  afraid  to  tell  you  before  — 
ashamed  —  but  I  told  my  people.  It's  three  years 
ago.  I  was  seventeen.  It  was  just  after  we  had 
become  engaged.  My  people  were  then  strong 
in  the  faith,  as  you  know.  One  morning  after 
you  had  left  for  the  East,  Brigham  Young  and 
Heber  Kimball  came  to  our  house  for  me.  They 
said  the  Prophet  had  long  known  me  by  sight, 
and  wished  to  talk  with  me.  Would  I  go  with 
them  to  visit  him  and  he  would  bless  and  counsel 
me?  Of  course  I  was  flattered.  I  put  on  my 
prettiest  frock  and  fetchingest  bonnet  and  set  off 
with  them,  after  mamma  had  said  yes.  On  the 
way  they  kept  asking  me  if  I  was  willing  to  do 
all  the  Prophet  required.  I  said  I  was  sure  of  it, 
thinking  they  meant  to  be  good  and  worshipful. 
Then  they  would  ask  if  I  was  ready  to  take  coun 
sel,  and  they  said,  '  Many  things  are  revealed  unto 
us  in  these  last  days  that  the  world  would  scoff 
at,'  but  that  it  had  been  given  to  them  to  know 
all  the  mysteries  of  the  Kingdom.  Then  they  said, 


52  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

'  You  will  see  Joseph  and  he  will  tell  you  what 
you  are  to  do.'  ' 

He  was  listening  with  a  serious,  confident  eager 
ness,  as  if  he  knew  she  could  say  nothing  to  dim 
the  Prophet's  lustre. 

"  When  we  reached  the  building  where  Joseph's 
store  was,  they  led  me  up-stairs  to  a  small  room 
and  sent  down  to  the  store  for  the  Prophet.  When 
he  came  up  they  introduced  me  and  left  me  alone 
in  the  little  room  with  him.  Their  actions  had 
seemed  queer  to  me,  but  I  remembered  that  this 
man  had  talked  face  to  face  with  God,  so  I  tried 
to  feel  better.  But  all  at  once  he  stood  before  me 
and  asked  me  to  be  his  wife.  Think  of  it!  I  was 
so  frightened!  I  dared  not  say  no,  he  looked  at 
me  so  —  I  can't  tell  you  how ;  but  I  said  it  would  not 
be  lawful.  He  said,  '  Yes,  Prudence,  I  have  had 
a  revelation  from  God  that  it  is  lawful  and  right 
for  a  man  to  have  as  many  wives  as  he  wants  — 
for  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  so  it  shall 
be  in  these  days.  Accept  me  and  I  shall  take  you 
straight  to  the  celestial  Kingdom.  Brother  Brig- 
ham  will  marry  us  here,  right  now,  and  you  can 
go  home  to-night  and  keep  it  secret  from  your 
parents  if  you  like.'  Then  I  said,  '  But  I  am  be 
trothed  to  Joel  Rae,  the  son  of  Giles  Rae,  who  is 
away  on  mission.'  '  I  know  that,'  he  said  —  '  I 
sent  him  away,  and  anyway  you  will  be  safer  to 
marry  me.  You  will  then  be  absolutely  sure  of 
your  celestial  reward,  for  in  the  next  world,  you 
know,  I  am  to  have  powers,  thrones,  and  dominions, 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  53 

while  Brother  Joel  is  very  young  and  has  not  been 
tried  in  the  Kingdom.  He  may  fall  away  and  then 
you  would  be  lost.' ' 

The  man  in  him  now  was  struggling  with  his 
faith,  and  he  seemed  about  to  interrupt  her,  but 
she  went  on  excitedly. 

"  I  said  I  would  not  want  to  do  anything  of  the 
kind  without  deliberation.  He  urged  me  to  have 
it  over,  trying  to  kiss  me,  and  saying  he  knew  it 
would  be  right  before  God;  that  if  there  was  any 
sin  in  it  he  would  take  it  upon  himself.  He  said, 
'  You  know  I  have  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom,  and 
whatever  I  bind  on  earth  is  bound  in  heaven. 
Come,'  he  said,  '  nothing  ventured,  nothing  gained. 
Let  me  call  Brother  Brigham  to  seal  us,  and  you 
shall  be  a  star  in  my  crown  for  ever.' 

"  Then  I  broke  down  and  cried,  for  I  was  so 
afraid,  and  he  put  his  arms  around  me,  but  I 
pushed  away,  and  after  awhile  I  coaxed  him  to  give 
me  until  the  next  Sabbath  to  think  it  over,  prom 
ising  on  my  life  to  say  not  one  word  to  any  person. 
I  never  let  him  see  me  alone  again,  you  may  be 
sure,  and  at  last  when  other  awful  tales  were  told 
about  him  here,  of  wickedness  and  his  drunken 
ness  —  he  told  in  the  pulpit  that  he  had  been  drunk, 
and  that  he  did  it  to  keep  them  from  worshipping 
him  as  a  God  —  I  saw  he  was  a  bad,  common 
man,  and  I  told  my  people  everything,  and  soon 
my  father  was  denounced  for  an  apostate.  Now, 
sir,  what  do  you  say?" 

When   she   finished  he  was   silent   for  a  time. 


54  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

Then  he  spoke,  very  gently,  but  with  undaunted 
firmness. 

"  Prudence,  dearest,  I  have  told  you  that  this 
doctrine  is  new  to  me.  I  do  not  yet  know  its 
justification.  But  that  I  shall  see  it  to  be  sanctified 
after  they  have  taught  me,  this  I  know  as  certainly 
as  I  know  that  Joseph  Smith  dug  up  the  golden 
plates  of  Mormon  and  Moroni  on  the  hill  of 
Cumorah  when  the  angel  of  the  Lord  moved  him. 
It  will  be  sanctified  for  those  who  choose  it,  I 
mean.  You  know  I  could  never  choose  it  for  my 
self.  But  as  for  others,  I  must  not  question.  I 
know  only  too  well  that  eternal  salvation  for  me 
depends  upon  my  accepting  manfully  and  unques- 
tioningly  the  authority  of  the  temple  priesthood." 

"  But  I  know  Joseph  was  not  a  good  man  — 
and  they  tell  such  absurd  stories  about  the  miracles 
the  Elders  pretend  to  work." 

"  I  believe  with  all  my  heart  Joseph  was  good ; 
but  even  if  not  —  we  have  never  pretended  that  he 
was  anything  more  than  a  prophet  of  God.  And 
was  not  Moses  a  murderer  when  God  called  him 
to  be  a  prophet?  And  as  for  miracles,  all  religions 
have  them  —  why  not  ours  ?  Your  people  were 
Methodists  before  Joseph  baptised  them.  Didn't 
Wesley  work  miracles?  Didn't  a  cloud  temper 
the  sun  in  answer  to  his  prayer?  Wasn't  his  horse 
cured  of  a  lameness  by  his  faith?  Didn't  he  lay 
hands  upon  the  blind  Catholic  girl  so  that  she  saw 
plainly  when  her  eyes  rested  upon  the  New  Testa 
ment  and  became  blind  again  when  she  took  up 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  55 

the  mass  book?  Are  those  stories  absurd?  My 
father  himself  saw  Joseph  cast  a  devil  out  of 
Newell  Knight." 

"  And  this  awful  journey  into  a  horrid  desert. 
Why  must  you  go?.  Surely  there  are  other  ways 
of  salvation."  She  hesitated  a  moment.  "  I  have 
been  told  that  going  to  heaven  is  like  going  to 
mill.  If  your  wheat  is  good,  the  miller  will  never 
ask  which  way  you  came." 

"  Child,  child,  some  one  has  tampered  with  you." 

She  retorted  quickly. 

"  He  did  not  tamper,  he  has  never  sought  to  — 
he  was  all  kindness." 

She  stopped,  her  short  upper  lip  holding  its 
incautious  mate  a  prisoner.  She  blushed  furiously 
under  the  sudden  blaze  of  his  eyes. 

"  So  it's  true,  what  Seth  Wright  hinted  at?  To 
think  that  you,  of  all  people  —  my  sweetheart  — 
gone  over  —  won  over  by  a  cursed  mobocrat  — 
a  fiend  with  the  blood  of  our  people  wet  on  his 
hands!  Listen,  Prue;  I'm  going  into  the  desert. 
Even  though  you  beg  me  to  stay,  you  must  have 
known  —  perhaps  you  hoped  —  that  I  would  go. 
There  are  many  reasons  why  I  must.  For  one, 
there  are  six  hundred  and  forty  poor  hunted 
wretches  over  there  on  the  river  bank,  sick,  cold, 
wet,  starving,  but  enduring  it  all  to  the  death  for 
their  faith  in  Joseph  Smith.  They  could  have 
kept  their  comfortable  homes  here  and  their  sub 
stance,  simply  by  renouncing  him  —  they  are  all 
voluntary  exiles  —  they  have  only  to  say  *  I  do  not 


56  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

believe  Joseph  Smith  was  a  prophet  of  God,'  and 
these  same  Gentiles  will  receive  them  with  open 
arms,  give  them  clothing,  food,  and  shelter,  put 
them  again  in  possession  of  their  own.  But  they 
are  lying  out  over  there,  fever-stricken,  starving, 
chilled,  all  because  they  will  not  deny  their  faith. 
Shall  I  be  a  craven,  then,  who  have  scarcely  ever 
wanted  for  food  or  shelter,  and  probably  shall  not? 
Of  course  you  don't  love  me  or  you  couldn't  ask 
me  to  do  that.  Those  faithful  wretched  ones  are 
waiting  over  there  for  me  to  guide  them  on  toward 
a  spot  that  will  probably  be  still  more  desolate. 
They  could  find  their  way,  almost,  by  the  trail  of 
graves  we  left  last  spring,  but  they  need  my 
strength  and  my  spirit,  and  I  am  going.  I  am 
going,  too,  for  my  own  salvation.  I  would  suffer 
anything  for  you,  but  by  going  I  may  save  us 
both.  Listen,  child ;  God  is  going  to  make  a  short 
work  on  earth.  We  shall  both  see  the  end  of 
this  reign  of  sin.  It  is  well  if  you  take  wheat  to 
the  mill,  but  what  if  you  fetch  the  miller  chaff 
instead?" 

She  made  a  little  protesting  move  with  her 
hands,  and  would  have  spoken,  but  he  was  not 
done. 

"  Now,  listen  further.  You  heard  my  father  tell 
how  I  have  seen  this  people  driven  and  persecuted 
since  I  was  a  boy.  That,  if  nothing  else,  would 
take  me  away  from  these  accursed  States  and  their 
mobs.  Hatred  of  them  has  been  bred  into  my 
marrow.  I  know  them  for  the  most  part  to  be 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  57 

unregenerate  and  doomed,  but  even  if  it  were 
otherwise  —  if  they  had  the  true  light  —  none  the 
less  would  I  be  glad  to  go,  because  of  what  they 
have  done  to  us  and  to  me  and  to  mine.  Oh,  in 
the  night  I  hear  such  cries  of  butchered  mothers 
with  their  babes,  and  see  the  flames  of  the  little 
cabins  —  hear  the  shots  and  the  ribaldry  and  the 
cursings.  My  father  spoke  to  you  of  Haun's  mill, 
—  that  massacre  back  in  Missouri.  That  was 
eight  years  ago.  I  was  a  boy  of  sixteen  and  my 
sister  was  a  year  older.  She  had  been  left  in  my 
care  while  father  and  mother  went  on  to  Far 
West.  You  have  seen  the  portrait  of  her  that 
mother  has.  You  know  how  delicately  flower-like 
her  beauty  was,  how  like  a  lily,  with  a  purity  and 
an  innocence  to  disarm  any  villainy.  Thirty  fam 
ilies  had  halted  at  the  mill  the  day  before,  the  mob 
checking  their  advance  at  that  point.  All  was 
quiet  until  about  four  in  the  afternoon.  We  were 
camped  on  either  side  of  Shoal  Creek.  Children 
were  playing  freely  about  while  their  mothers  and 
fathers  worked  at  the  little  affairs  of  a  pilgrimage 
like  that.  '  Most  of  them  had  then  been  three 
months  on  the  road,  enduring  incredible  hardships 
for  the  sake  of  their  religion  —  for  him  you  be 
lieve  to  be  a  bad,  common  man.  But  they  felt 
secure  now  because  one  of  the  militia  captains, 
officious  like  your  captain  here,  had  given  them 
assurance  the  day  before  that  they  would  be  pro 
tected  from  all  harm.  I  was  helping  Brother  Joseph 
Young  to  repair  his  wagon  when  I  glanced  up  to 


58  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

the  opposite  side  of  Shoal  Creek  and  saw  a  large 
company  of  armed  and  mounted  men  coming 
toward  our  peaceful  group  at  full  speed.  One  of 
our  number,  seeing  that  they  were  many  and  that 
we  were  unarmed,  ran  out  and  cried,  *  Peace ! '  but 
they  came  upon  us  and  fired  their  volley.  Men, 
women,  and  little  children  fell  under  it.  Those 
surviving  fled  to  the  blacksmith's  shop  for  shelter  — 
huddling  inside  like  frightened  sheep.  But  there 
were  wide  cracks  between  the  logs,  and  up  to  these 
the  mob  went,  putting  their  guns  through  to  do 
their  work  at  leisure.  Then  the  plundering  began 
—  plundering  and  worse." 

He  stopped,  trembling,  and  she  put  out  her  hand 
to  him  in  sympathy.  When  he  had  regained  con 
trol  of  himself,  he  continued. 

"  At  the  first  volley  I  had  hurried  sister  to  a 
place  of  concealment  in  the  underbrush,  and  she, 
hearing  them  search  for  the  survivors  after  the 
shooting  was  over,  thought  we  were  discovered, 
and  sprang  up  to  run  further.  One  of  them  saw 
her  and  shot.  She  fell  half-fainting  with  a  bullet 
through  her  arm,  and  then  half  a  dozen  of  them 
gathered  quickly  about  her.  I  ran  to  them,  scream 
ing  and  striking  out  with  my  fists,  but  the  devil 
was  in  them,  and  she,  poor  blossom,  lay  there 
helpless,  calling  '  Boy,  boy,  boy ! '  as  she  had  always 
called  me  since  we  were  babies  together.  Must  I 
tell  you  the  rest?  —  must  I  tell  you  —  how  those 
devils  —  " 

"Don't,  don't!    Oh,  no!" 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  59 

"  I  thought  I  must  die!    They  held  me  there  —  " 

He  had  gripped  one  of  her  wrists  until  she  cried 
out  in  pain  and  he  released  it. 

"  But  the  sight  must  have  given  me  a  man's 
strength,  for  my  struggles  became  so  troublesome 
that  one  of  them  —  I  have  always  been  grateful 
for  it  —  clubbed  his  musket  and  dealt  me  a  blow 
that  left  me  senseless.  It  was  dark  when  I  came 
to,  but  I  lay  there  until  morning,  unable  to  do  more 
than  crawl.  When  the  light  came  I  found  the 
poor  little  sister  there  near  where  they  had  dragged 
us  both,  and  she  was  alive.  Can  you  realise  how 
awful  that  was  —  that  she  had  lived  through  it  ? 
God  be  thanked,  she  died  before  the  day  was  out. 

"  After  that  the  other  mutilated  bodies,  the  plun 
dered  wagons,  all  seemed  less  horrible  to  me.  My 
heart  had  been  seared  over.  They  had  killed 
twenty  of  the  Saints,  and  the  most  of  them  we 
hurried  to  throw  into  a  well,  fearful  that  the 
soldiers  of  Governor  Boggs  would  come  back  at 
any  moment  to  strip  and  hack  them.  O  God!  and 
now  you  have  gone  over  to  one  of  them !  " 

"  Joel,  —  dear,  dear  Joel !  —  indeed  I  pity  and 
sympathise  —  and  care  for  —  but  I  cannot  go  — 
even  after  all  you  say.  And  don't  you  see  it  will 
always  be  so!  My  father  says  the  priesthood  will 
always  be  in  trouble  if  it  sets  itself  above  the 
United  States.  Dear  Joel,  I  can't  go,  indeed  I 
can't  go !  " 

He  spoke  more  softly  now. 

"  Thank  God  I  don't  realise  it  yet  —  I  mean, 


60  THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

that  we  must  part.  You  tell  me  so  and  I  hear  you 
and  my  mind  knows,  but  my  heart  hasn't  sensed 
it  yet  —  I  can  feel  it  now  going  stupidly  along 
singing  its  old  happy  song  of  hope  and  gladness, 
while  all  this  is  going  on  here  outside.  But  soon 
the  big  hurt  will  come.  Oh,  Prue  —  Prue,  girl !  — 
can't  you  think  what  it  will  mean  to  me?  Don't 
you  know  how  I  shall  sicken  for  the  sight  of  you, 
and  my  ears  will  listen  for  you !  Prudence,  Prue, 
darling  —  yet  I  must  not  be  womanish !  I  have  a 
big  work  to  do.  I  have  known  it  with  a  new  clear 
ness  since  that  radiance  rested  above  my  head  last 
night.  The  truth  burns  in  me  like  a  fire.  Your 
going  can't  take  that  from  me.  It  must  be  I  was  not 
meant  to  have  you.  With  you  perhaps  I  could  not 
have  had  a  heart  single  to  God's  work.  He  per 
mitted  me  to  love  you  so  I  could  be  tried  and 
proved." 

He  looked  at  her  fondly,  and  she  could  see  striv 
ing  and  trembling  in  his  eyes  a  great  desire  to 
crush  her  in  his  arms,  yet  he  fought  it  down,  and 
continued  more  calmly. 

"  But  indeed  I  must  be  favoured  more  than  com 
mon,  to  deserve  that  so  great  a  hurt  be  put  upon 
me,  and  I  shall  not  be  found  wanting.  I  shall 
never  wed  any  woman  but  you,  though,  dear.  If 
not  you,  never  any  other." 

He  stood  up. 

"  I  must  go  in  to  them  now.  There  must  be 
work  to  do  against  the  start  to-morrow." 

"Joel!" 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  61 

"  May  the  Lord  deafen  my  ears  to  you,  darling!  " 
and  squaring  his  shoulders  resolutely  away  from 
her,  he  left  her  on  the  seat  and  went  in. 

The  old  man  looked  up  from  his  Bible  as  his 
son  entered. 

"  It's  sore  sad,  laddie,  we  can't  have  the  temple 
for  your  sealing- vows." 

"  Prudence  will  not  be  sealed  to  me,  father." 
He  spoke  dazedly,  as  if  another  like  the  morning's 
blow  had  been  dealt  him.  "I  —  I  am  already 
sealed  to  the  Spirit  for  time  and  eternity." 

"Was  it  Prudence's  doings?"  asked  his- mother, 
quickly. 

"  Yes ;    she  has  left  the  church  with  her  people." 

The  long-faced,  narrow-browed  old  man  raised 
one  hand  solemnly. 

"  Then  let  her  be  banished  from  Israel  and  not 
numbered  in  the  books  of  the  offspring  of  Abraham ! 
And  let  her  be  delivered  over  to  the  bufferings  of 
Satan  in  the  flesh!" 


CHAPTER   V. 

Giles  Roe  Beautifies  His  Inheritance 

BY  eight  o'clock  the  next  morning,  out  under 
a  cloudy  sky,  the  Raes  were  ready  and  eager 
for  their  start  to  the  new  Jerusalem.  Even  the 
sick  woman's  face  wore  a  kind  of  soft  and  faded 
radiance  in  the  excitement  of  going.  On  her  mat 
tress,  she  had  been  tenderly  installed  in  one  of  the 
two  covered  wagons  that  carried  their  household 
goods.  The  wagon  in  which  she  lay  was  to  be 
taken  across  the  river  by  Seth  Wright,  —  for  the 
moment  no  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains,  but  a 
soft-cooing  dove  of  peace.  Permission  had  been 
granted  him  by  Brockman  to  recross  the  river  on 
some  needful  errands;  and,  having  once  proved 
the  extreme  sensitiveness,  not  to  say  irritability, 
of  those  in  temporary  command,  he  was  now  re 
solved  to  give  as  little  eclat  as  possible  to  certain 
superior  aspects  of  his  own  sanctity.  He  spoke 
low  and  deferentially,  and  his  mien  was  that  of 
a  modest,  retiring  man  who  secretly  thought  ill  of 
himself. 

He  mounted  the  wagon  in  which  the  sick  woman 
62 


THE  LIONS  OF  THE  LORD          63 

lay,  sat  well  back  under  the  bowed  cover,  clucked 
low  to  the  horses,  and  drove  off  toward  the  ferry. 
If  discreet  behaviour  on  his  part  could  ensure  it 
there  would  be  no  conflict  provoked  with  superior 
numbers;  with  numbers,  moreover,  composed  of 
violent-tempered  and  unprincipled  persecutors  who 
were  already  acting  with  but  the  merest  shadow 
of  legal  authority. 

On  the  seat  of  the  second  wagon,  whip  in  hand, 
was  perched  Giles  Rae,  his  coat  buttoned  warmly  to 
the  chin.  He  was  slight  and  feeble  to  the  eye,  yet 
he  had  been  fired  to  new  life  by  the  certainty  that 
now  they  were  to  leave  the  territory  of  the  per 
secuting  Gentiles  for  a  land  to  be  the  Saints'  very 
own.  His  son  stood  at  the  wheel,  giving  him 
final  directions.  At  the  gate  was  Prudence  Cor- 
son,  gowned  for  travel,  reticule  in  hand,  her  pretti- 
ness  shadowed,  under  the  scoop  of  her  bonnet,  the 
toe  of  one  trim  little  boot  meditatively  rolling  a 
pebble  over  the  ground. 

"  Drive  slowly,  Daddy.  Likely  I  shall  overtake 
you  before  you  reach  the  ferry.  I  want  but  a 
word  yet  with  Prudence ;  though  "  —  he  glanced 
over  at  the  bowed  head  of  the  girl  —  "  no  matter  if 
I  linger  a  little,  since  Brother  Seth  will  cross  first 
and  we  must  wait  until  the  boat  comes  back.  Some 
of  our  people  will  be  at  the  ferry  to  look  after 
you,  —  and  be  careful  to  have  no  words  with  any 
of  the  mob  —  no  matter  what  insult  they  may  offer. 
You're  feeling  strong,  aren't  you  ?  " 

"  Ay,  laddie,  that  I  am !    Strong  as  an  ox !    The 


64  THE  LIONS  OF  THE  LORD 

very  thought  of  being  free  out  of  this  Babylon 
has  exalted  me  in  spirit  and  body.  Think  of  it, 
boy!  Soon  we  shall  be  even  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  United  States  —  in  a  foreign  land  out  there 
to  the  west,  where  these  bloodthirsty  ones  can  no 
longer  reach  us.  Thank  God  they're  like  all  snakes 

—  they  can't  jump  beyond  their  own  length !  " 

He  leaned  out  of  the  wagon  to  shake  a  bloodless, 
trembling  fist  toward  the  temple  where  the  soldiers 
had  made  their  barracks. 

"  Now  let  great  and  grievous  judgments,  desola 
tions,  by  famine,  sword,  and  pestilence  come  upon 
you,  generation  of  vipers !  " 

He  cracked  the  whip,  the  horses  took  their  load 
at  his  cheery  call,  and  as  the  wagon  rolled  away 
they  heard  him  singing: — 

"  Lo,  the  Gentile  chain  is  broken ! 
Freedom's  banner  waves  on  high  !  " 

They  watched  him  until  the  wagon  swung  around 
into  the  street  that  fell  away  to  the  ferry.  Then 
they  faced  each  other,  and  he  stepped  to  her  side 
as  she  leaned  lightly  on  the  gate. 

"  Prue,  dear,"  he  said,  softly,  "  it's  going  hard 
with  me.  God  must  indeed  have  a  great  work 
reserved  for  me  to  try  me  with  such  a  sacrifice 

—  so  much  pain  where  I  could  least  endure  it.     I 
prayed   all   the   night  to   be  kept  firm,    for  there 
are  two  ways  open  —  one  right  and  one  wrong ; 
but  I  cannot  sell  my  soul  so  early.     That's  why 
I  wanted  to  say  the  last  good-bye  out  here.    I  was 


THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD          65 

afraid  to  say  it  in  there  —  I  am  so  weak  for  you, 
Prue  —  I  ache  so  for  you  in  all  this  trouble  — 
why,  if  I  could  feel  your  hands  in  my  hair,  I'd 
laugh  at  it  all  —  I'm  so  weak  for  you,  dearest." 

She  tossed  her  yellow  head  ever  so  slightly,  and 
turned  the  scoop  of  her  bonnet  a  little  away  from 
his  pain-lighted  face. 

"  I  am  not  complimented,  though  —  you  care 
more  for  your  religion  than  for  me." 

He  looked  at  her  hungrily. 

"  No,  you  are  wrong  there  —  I  don't  separate 
you  at  all  —  I  couldn't  —  you  and  my  religion  are 
one  —  but,  if  I  must,  I  can  love  you  in  spirit  as 
I  worship  my  God  in  spirit  —  " 

"  If  it  will  satisfy  you,  very  well !  " 

"  My  reward  will  come  —  I  shall  do  a  great 
work,  I  shall  have  a  Witness  from  the  sky.  Who 
am  I  that  I  should  have  thought  to  win  a  crown 
without  taking  up  a  cross  ?  " 

"  I  am  sorry  for  you." 

"  Oh,  Prue,  there  must  be  a  way  to  save  the 
souls  of  such  as  you,  even  in  their  blindness.  Would 
God  make  a  flower  like  you,  only  to  let  it  be  lost? 
There  must  be  a  way.  I  shall  pray  until  I  force 
it  from  the  secret  heavens." 

"My  soul  will  be  very  well,  sir!"  she  retorted, 
with  a  distinct  trace  of  asperity.  "  I  am  not  a 
heathen,  I'd  thank  you  to  remember  —  and  when 
I'm  a  wife  I  shall  be  my  husband's  only  wife  —  " 

He  winced  in  acutest  pain. 

"  You  have  no  right  to  taunt  me  so.     Else  you 


66  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

can't  know  what  you  have  meant  to  me.  Oh, 
you  were  all  the  world,  child  —  you,  of  your  own 
dear  self  —  you  would  have  been  all  the  wives  in 
the  world  to  me  —  there  are  many,  many  of  you,  and 
all  in  a  heavenly  one  —  " 

"  Oh,  forgive  me,  dearest,"  she  cried,  and  put 
out  a  little  gloved  hand  to  comfort  him.  "  I  know, 
I  know  —  all  the  sweetness  and  goodness  of  your 
love,  believe  me.  See,  I  have  kept  always  by  me 
the  little  Bible  you  gave  me  on  my  birthday  —  I 
have  treasured  it,  and  I  know  it  has  made  me  a  better 
girl,  because  it  makes  me  always  think  of  your 
goodness  —  but  I  couldn't  have  gone  there,  Joel 

—  and  it  does  seem  as  if  you  need  not  have  gone 

—  and  that  marrying  is  so  odious  —  " 

"  You  shall  see  how  little  you  had  to  fear  of 
that  doctrine  which  God  has  seen  fit  to  reveal  to 
these  good  men.  I  tell  you  now,  Prue,  I  shall 
wed  no  woman  but  you.  Nor  am  I  giving  you  up. 
Don't  think  it.  I  am  doing  my  duty  and  trusting 
God  to  bring  you  to  me.  I  know  He  will  do  it  — 
I  tell  you  there  is  the  spirit  of  some  strange,  awful 
strength  in  me,  which  tells  me  to  ask  what  I  will 
and  it  shall  be  given  —  to  seek  to  do  anything,  how 
great  or  hard  soever,  and  a  giant's,  a  god's  strength 
will  rest  in  me.  And  so  I  know  you  will  come. 
You  will  always  think  of  me  so,  —  waiting  for 
you  —  somehow,  somewhere.  Every  day  you  must 
think  it,  at  any  idle  moment  when  I  come  to 
your  mind;  every  night  when  you  waken  in  the 
dark  and  silence,  you  must  think,  '  Wherever  he 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  67 

is,  he  is  waiting  for  me,  perhaps  awake  as  I  am 
now,  praying,  with  a  power  that  will  surely  draw 
me.'  You  will  come  somehow.  Perhaps,  when 
I  reach  winter  quarters,  you  will  have  changed  your 
mind.  One  never  knows  how  God  may  fashion  these 
little  providences.  But  He  will  bring  you  safe  to 
me  out  of  that  Gentile  perdition.  Remember,  child, 
God  has  set  his  hand  in  these  last  days  to  save  the 
human  family  from  the  ruins  of  the  fall,  and  some 
way,  He  alone  knows  how,  you  will  come  to  me 
and  find  me  waiting." 

"  As  if  you  needed  to  wait  for  me  when  I  am  here 
now  ready  for  you,  willing  to  be  taken !  " 

"  Don't,  don't,  dear !  There  are  two  of  me  now, 
and  one  can't  stand  the  pain.  There  is  a  man  in 
me,  sworn  to  do  a  man's  work  like  a  man,  and 
duty  to  God  and  the  priesthood  has  big  chains 
around  his  heart  dragging  it  across  the  river.  But, 
low,  now  —  there  is  a  little,  forlorn  boy  in  me,  too 
—  a  poor,  crying,  whimpering,  babyish  little  boy, 
who  dreamed  of  you  and  longed  for  you  and  was 
promised  you,  and  who  will  never  get  well  of  losing 
you.  Oh,  I  know  it  well  enough  —  his  tears  will 
never  dry,  his  heart  will  always  have  a  big  hurt 
in  it  —  and  your  face  will  always  be  so  fresh  and 
clear  in  it!  " 

He  put  his  hands  on  her  shoulders  and  looked 
down  into  the  face  under  the  bonnet. 

"  Let  me  make  sure  I  shall  lose  no  look  of  you. 
from  little  tilted  chin,  and  lips  of  scarlet  thread. 


68  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

and  little  teeth  like  grains  of  rice,  and  eyes  into 
which  I  used  to  wander  and  wonder  so  far  —  " 

She  looked  past  him  and  stepped  back. 

"  Captain  Girnway  is  coming  for  me  —  yonder, 
away  down  the  street.  He  takes  me  to  Carthage." 

His  face  hardened  as  he  looked  over  his  shoulder. 

"  I  shall  never  wed  any  woman  but  you.  Can 
you  feel  as  deeply  as  that?  Will  you  wed  no  man 
but  me?" 

She  fluttered  the  cherry  ribbons  on  the  bonnet  and 
fixed  a  stray  curl  in  front  of  one  ear. 

"  Have  you  a  right  to  ask  that  ?  I  might  wait 
a  time  for  you  to  come  back  —  to  your  senses  and 
to  me,  but  —  " 

"Good-bye,  darling!" 

"What,  will  you  go  that  way  —  not  kiss  me? 
He  is  still  two  blocks  away." 

"  I  am  so  weak  for  you,  sweet  —  the  little  boy 
in  me  is  crying  for  you,  but  he  must  not  have  what 
he  wants.  What  he  wants  would  leave  his  heart 
rebellious  and  not  perfect  with  the  Lord.  It's  best 
not,"  he  continued,  with  an  effort  at  a  smile  and  in 
a  steadier  tone.  "It -would  mean  so  much  to  me 
—  oh,  so  very  much  to  me  —  and  so  very  little 
to  you  —  and  that's  no  real  kiss.  I'd  rather  re 
member  none  of  that  kind  —  and  don't  think  I  was 
churlish  —  it's  only  because  the  little  boy  —  I  will 
go  after  my  father  now,  and  God  bless  you !  " 

He  turned  away.  A  few  paces  on  he  met  Captain 
Girnway,  jaunty,  debonair,  smiling,  handsome  in 
his  brass-buttoned  uniform  of  the  Carthage  Grays. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD  69 

"I  have  just  left  the  ferry,  Mr.  Rae.  The 
wagon  with  your  mother  has  gone  over.  The  other 
had  not  yet  come  down.  Some  of  the  men  appear 
to  be  a  little  rough  this  morning.  Your  people  are 
apt  to  provoke  them  by  being  too  outspoken,  but 
I  left  special  orders  for  the  good  treatment  of  your 
self  and  outfit." 

With  a  half-smothered  "  thank  you,"  he  passed 
on,  not  trusting  himself  to  say  more  to  one  who 
was  not  only  the  enemy  of  his  people,  but  bent, 
seemingly,  on  deluding  a  young  woman  to  the  loss 
of  her  soul.  He  heard  their  voices  in  cheerful  greet 
ing,  but  did  not  turn  back.  With  eyes  to  the  front 
and  shoulders  squared  he  kept  stiffly  on  his  way 
through  the  silent,  deserted  streets  to  the  ferry. 

Fifteen  minutes'  walk  brought  him  to  the  now 
busy  waterside.  The  ferry,  a  flat  boat  propelled 
by  long  oars,  was  landing  when  he  came  into  view, 
and  he  saw  his  father's  wagon  driven  on.  He 
sped  down  the  hill,  pushed  through  the  crowd  of 
soldiers  standing  about,  and  hurried  forward  on  the 
boat  to  let  the  old  man  know  he  had  come.  But 
on  the  seat  was  another  than  his  father.  He  recog 
nised  the  man,  and  called  to  him. 

"  What  are  you  doing  there,  Brother  Keaton  ? 
Where's  my  father?" 

The  man  had  shrunk  back  under  the  wagon-cover, 
having  seemingly  been  frightened  by  the  soldiers. 

"  I've  taken  your  father's  place,  Brother  Rae." 

"  Did  he  cross  with  Brother  Wright?  " 


70  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  Yes  —  he  —  "  The  man  hesitated.  Then  came 
an  interruption  from  the  shore. 

"  Come,  clear  the  gangway  there  so  we  can  load ! 
Here  are  some  more  of  the  damned  rats  we've 
hunted  out  of  their  holes !  " 

The  speaker  made  a  half-playful  lunge  with  his 
bayonet  at  a  gaunt,  yellow-faced  spectre  of  a  man 
who  staggered  on  to  the  boat  with  a  child  in  his 
arms  wrapped  in  a  tattered  blue  quilt.  A  gust  of 
the  chilly  wind  picked  his  shapeless,  loose-fitting 
hat  off  as  he  leaped  to  avoid  the  bayonet-point,  and 
his  head  was  seen  to  be  shaven.  The  crowd  on  the 
bank  laughed  loud  at  his  clumsiness  and  at  his 
grotesque  head.  Joel  Rae  ran  to  help  him  forward 
on  the  boat. 

"  Thank  you,  Brother  —  I'm  just  up  from  the 
fever-bed  —  they  shaved  my  head  for  it  —  and  so 
I  lost  my  hat  —  thank  you  —  here  we  shall  be  warm 
if  only  the  sun  comes  out.'* 

Joel  went  back  to  help  on  others  who  came,  a 
feeble,  bedraggled  dozen  or  so  that  had  clung  de 
spairingly  to  their  only  shelter  until  they  were  driven 
out. 

"  You  can  stay  here  in  safety,  you  know,  if 
you  renounce  Joseph  Smith  and  his  works  —  they 
will  give  you  food  and  shelter."  He  repeated  it  to 
each  little  group  of  the  dispirited  wretches  as  they 
staggered  past  him,  but  they  replied  staunchly  by 
word  or  look,  and  one  man,  in  the  throes  of  a  chill, 
swung  his  cap  and  uttered  a  feeble  "  Hurrah  for 
the  new  Zion!" 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  71 

When  they  were  all  on  with  their  meagre  belong 
ings,  he  called  again  to  the  man  in  the  wagon. 

"  Brother  Keaton,  my  father  went  across,  did 
he?" 

Several  of  the  men  on  shore  answered  him. 

"  Yes  "  —  "  Old  white-whiskered  death's-head 
went  over  the  river  "  —  "  Over  here  "  —  "A  sassy 
old  codger  he  was  "  —  "  He  got  his  needings,  too  " 
—  "  Got  his  needings  —  " 

They  cast  off  the  line  and  the  oars  began  to 
dip. 

"  And  you'll  get  your  needings,  too,  if  you  come 
back,  remember  that!  That's  the  last  of  you,  and 
we'll  have  no  more  vermin  like  you.  Now  see  what 
old  Joe  Smith,  the  white-hat  prophet,  can  do  for 
you  in  the  Indian  territory !  " 

He  stood  at  the  stern  of  the  boat,  shivering 
as  he  looked  at  the  current,  swift,  cold,  and  gray 
under  the  sunless  sky.  He  feared  some  indignity 
had  been  offered  to  his  father.  They  had  looked 
at  one  another  queerly  when  they  answered  his 
questions.  He  went  forward  to  the  wagon  again. 

"  Brother  Keaton,  you're  sure  my  father  is  all 
right?" 

"  I  am  sure  he's  all  right,  Brother  Rae." 

Content  with  this,  at  last,  he  watched  the  farther 
flat  shore  of  the  Mississippi,  with  its  low  fringe 
of  green  along  the  edge,  where  they  were  to  land 
and  be  at  last  out  of  the  mob's  reach.  He  repeated 
his  father's  words :  "  Thank  God,  they're  like  all 
snakes ;  they  can't  jump  beyond  their  own  length." 


72  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

The  confusion  of  landing  and  the  preparations 
for  an  immediate  start  drove  for  the  time  all  other 
thoughts  from  his  mind.  It  had  been  determined 
to  get  the  little  band  at  once  out  of  the  marshy  spot 
where  the  camp  had  been  made.  The  teams  were 
soon  hitched,  the  wagons  loaded,  and  the  train  ready 
to  move.  He  surveyed  it,  a  hundred  poor  wagons, 
many  of  them  without  cover,  loaded  to  the  full 
with  such  nondescript  belongings  as  a  house-dwell 
ing  people,  suddenly  put  out  on  the  open  road, 
would  hurriedly  snatch  as  they  fled.  And  the  people 
made  his  heart  ache,  even  to  the  deadening  of  his 
own  sorrow,  as  he  noted  their  wobegoneness.  For 
these  were  the  sick,  the  infirm,  the  poor,  the  in 
efficient,  who  had  been  unable  for  one  reason  or 
another  to  migrate  with  the  main  body  of  the  Saints 
earlier  in  the  season.  Many  of  them  were  now 
racked  by  fever  from  sleeping  on  the  damp  ground. 
These  bade  fair  not  to  outlast  some  of  the  lumbering 
carts  that  threatened  at  every  rough  spot  to  jolt 
apart. 

Yet  the  line  bravely  formed  to  the  order  of  Seth 
Wright  as  captain,  and  the  march  began.  Looking 
back,  he  saw  peaceful  Nauvoo,  its  houses  and 
gardens,  softened  by  the  cloudy  sky  and  the  autumn 
haze,  clustering  under  the  shelter  of  their  temple 
spire,  —  their  temple  and  their  houses,  of  which 
they  were  now  despoiled  by  a  mob's  fury.  Ahead  he 
saw  the  road  to  the  West,  a  hard  road,  as  he  knew, 
—  one  he  could  not  hope  they  should  cross  without 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD    73 

leaving  more  graves  by  the  way;  but  Zion  was  at 
the  end. 

The  wagons  and  carts  creaked  and  strained  and 
rattled  under  their  swaying  loads,  and  the  line  grad 
ually  defined  itself  along  the  road  from  the  con 
fused  jumble  at  the  camp.  He  remembered  his 
father  again  now,  and  hurried  forward  to  assure 
himself  that  all  was  right.  As  he  overtook  along 
the  way  the  stumbling  ones  obliged  to  walk,  he 
tried  to  cheer  them. 

"  Only  a  short  march  to-day,  brothers.  Our 
camp  is  at  Sugar  Creek,  nine  miles  —  so  take  your 
time  this  first  day." 

Near  the  head  of  the  train  were  his  own  two 
wagons,  and  beside  the  first  walked  Seth  Wright 
and  Keaton,  in  low,  earnest  converse.  As  he  came 
up  to  them  the  Bishop  spoke. 

"  I  got  Wes'  and  Alec  Gregg  to  drive  awhile  so 
we  could  stretch  our  legs."  But  then  came  a  quick 
change  of  tone,  as  they  halted  by  the  road. 

"  Joel,  there's  no  use  beatin'  about  the  bush  — 
them  devils  at  the  ferry  jest  now  drowned  your  pa." 

He  went  cold  all  over.  Keaton,  looking  sympa 
thetic  but  frightened,  spoke  next. 

"  You  ought  to  thank  me,  Brother  Rae,  for  not 
telling  you  on  the  other  side,  when  you  asked  me. 
I  knew  better.  Because,  why?  Because  I  knew 
you'd  fly  off  the  handle  and  get  yourself  killed, 
and  then  your  ma'd  be  left  all  alone,  that's  why, 
now  —  and  prob'ly  they'd  'a'  wound  up  by  dumping 
the  whole  passle  of  us  bag  and  baggage  into  the 


74  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

stream.  And  it  wa'n't  any  use,  your  father  bein' 
dead  and  gone." 

The  Bishop  took  up  the  burden,  slapping  him 
cordially  on  the  back. 

"  Come,  come,  —  hearten  up,  now !  Your  pa's 
been  made  a  martyr  —  he's  beautified  his  inheritance 
in  Zion  —  whinin'  won't  do  no  good." 

He  drew  himself  up  with  a  shrug,  as  if  to  throw 
off  an  invisible  burden,  and  answered,  calmly: 

"  I'm  not  whining,  Bishop.  Perhaps  you  were 
right  not  to  tell  me  over  there,  Keaton.  I'd  have 
made  trouble  for  you  all."  He  smiled  painfully  in 
his  effort  to  control  himself.  "  Were  you  there, 
Bishop?" 

"  No,  I'd  already  gone  acrost.  Keaton  here  saw 
it." 

Keaton  took  up  the  tale. 

"  I  was  there  when  the  old  gentleman  drove 
down  singing,  '  Lo,  the  Gentile  chain  is  broken/ 
He  was  awful  chipper.  Then  one  of  'em  called 
him  old  Father  Time,  and  he  answered  back.  I 
disremember  what,  but,  any  way,  one  word  fired 
another  until  they  was  cussin'  Giles  Rae  up  hill  and 
down  dale,  and  instead  of  keepin'  his  head  shet 
like  he  had  ought  to  have  done,  he  was  prophesyin' 
curses,  desolations,  famines,  and  pestilences  on  'em 
all,  and  callin'  'em  enemies  of  Christ.  He  was  sassy 
—  I  can't  deny  that  —  and  that's  where  he  wa'n't 
wise.  Some  of  the  mobocrats  was  drunk  and  some 
was  mad;  they  was  all  in  their  high-heeled  boots 
one  way  or  another,  and  he  enraged  'em  more.  So 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  75 

he  says,  finally,  '  The  Jews  fell/  he  says,  '  because 
they  wouldn't  receive  their  Messiah,  the  Shiloh, 
the  Saviour.  They  wet  their  hands,'  he  says,  *  in  the 
best  blood  that  had  flowed  through  the  lineage  of 
Judah,  and  they  had  to  pay  the  cost.  And  so  will 
you  cowards  of  Illinois,'  he  says,  '  have  to  pay  the 
penalty  for  sheddin'  the  blood  of  Joseph  Smith,  the 
best  blood  that  has  flowed  since  the  Lord's  Christ/ 
he  says.  *  The  wrath  of  God/  he  says,  '  will  abide 
upon  you.'  The  old  gentleman  was  a  powerful 
denouncer  when  he  was  in  the  spirit  of  it  —  " 

"  Come,  come,  Keaton,  hurry,  for  God's  sake  — 
get  on!  " 

"  And  he  made  'em  so  mad,  a-settin'  up  there  so 
peart  and  brave  before  'em,  givin'  'em  as  good  as 
they  sent  —  givin'  'em  hell  right  to  their  faces,  you 
might  say,  that  at  last  they  made  for  him,  some  of 
them  that  you  could  see  had  been  puttin'  a  new 
faucet  into  the  cider  barrel.  I  saw  they  meant  to 
do  him  a  mischief  —  but  Lord !  what  could  I  do 
against  fifty,  being  then  in  the  midst  of  a  chill? 
Well,  they  drug  him  off  the  seat,  and  said,  '  Now, 
you  old  rat,  own  up  that  Holy  Joe  was  a  danged 
fraud ; '  or  something  like  that.  But  he  was  that 
sanctified  and  stubborn  — '  Better  to  suffer  stripes 
for  the  testimony  of  Christ/  he  says,  '  than  to  fall 
by  the  sin  of  denial ! '  Then  they  drug  him  to  the 
bank,  one  on  each  side,  and  says,  '  We  baptise  you  in 
the  holy  name  of  Brockman/  and  in  they  dumped 
him  —  backwards,  mind  you !  I  saw  then  they  was 
in  a  slippery  place  where  it  was  deep  and  the  current 


76  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

awful  strong.  But  they  hauled  him  out,  and  says 
again,  *  Do  you  renounce  Holy  Joe  Smith  and  all 
his  works  ? '  The  poor  old  fellow  couldn't  talk 
a  word  for  the  chill,  but  he  shook  his  head  like 
sixty  —  as  stubborn  as  you'd  wish.  So  they  said, 
*  Damn  you !  here's  another,  then.  We  baptise  you 
in  the  name  of  James  K.  Polk,  President  of  the 
United  States ! '  and  in  they  threw  him  again. 
Whether  they  done  it  on  purpose  or  not,  I  wouldn't 
like  to  say,  but  that  time  his  coat  collar  slipped 
out  of  their  hands  and  down  he  went.  He  came 
up  ten  feet  down-stream  and  quite  a  ways  out,  and 
they  hooted  at  him.  I  seen  him  come  up  once  after 
that,  and  then  they  see  he  couldn't  swim  a  stroke, 
but  little  they  cared.  And  I  never  saw  him  again. 
I  jest  took  hold  of  the  team  and  drove  it  on  the 
boat,  scared  to  death  for  what  you'd  do  when  you 
come,  —  so  I  kept  still  and  they  kept  still.  But 
remember,  it's  only  another  debt  the  blood  of  the 
Gentiles  will  have  to  pay  —  " 

"  Either  here  on  earth  or  in  hell,"  said  the  Bishop. 

"  And  the  soul  of  your  poor  pa  is  now  warm  and 
dry  and  happy  in  the  presence  of  his  Lord  God." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Lute  of  the  Holy  Ghost  Is  Further  Chastened 

LISTENING  to  Keaton's  tale,  he  had  dimly 
seen  the  caravan  of  hunted  creatures  crawl 
past  him  over  the  fading  green  of  the  prairie ; 
the  wagons  with  their  bowed  white  covers ;  a  heavy 
cart,  jolting,  creaking,  lumbering  mysteriously 
along,  a  sick  driver  hidden  somewhere  back  under 
its  makeshift  cover  of  torn  counterpanes;  a  battered 
carriage,  reminiscent  of  past  luxury,  drawn  by  oxen ; 
more  wagons,  some  without  covers ;  a  two-wheeled 
cart,  designed  in  the  ingenuity  of  desperation,  laden 
with  meal-sacks,  a  bundle  of  bedding,  a  sleeping 
child,  and  drawn  by  a  little  dry-dugged  heifer ;  then 
more  wagons  with  stooping  figures  trudging  dog 
gedly  beside  them,  here  a  man,  there  a  woman  lead 
ing  a  child.  He  saw  them  as  shapes  floating  by  in 
a  dream,  blurred  and  inconsequent.  But  between 
himself  and  the  train,  more  clearly  outlined  to  his 
gaze,  he  saw  the  worn  face  of  his  father  tossed 
on  the  cold,  dark  waters,  being  swept  down  by  the 
stream,  the  weak  old  hands  clutching  for  some  sup- 

77 


78  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

port  in  the  muddy  current,  the  white  head  with  the 
chin  held  up  sinking  lower  at  each  failure,  then  at 
last  going  under,  gulping,  to  leave  a  little  row  of 
bubbles  down  the  stream. 

In  a  craze  of  rage  and  grief  he  turned  toward 
the  river,  when  he  heard  the  sharp  voice  of  the 
Bishop  calling  him  back. 

"  It  ain't  any  use,  Joel." 

"  Couldn't  we  find  his  body?  " 

"  Not  a  chance  in  a  thousand.  It  was  carried 
down  by  the  current.  It  would  mean  days  and 
mebbe  weeks.  Besides,  we  need  you  here.  Here's 
your  duty.  Sakes  alive!  If  we  only  had  about 
twenty  minutes  with  them  cusses  like  it  was  in 
the  old  days!  When  you're  ready  to  be  a  Son  of 
Dan  you'll  know  what  I  mean.  But  never  mind, 
we'll  see  the  day  yet  when  Israel  will  be  the  head 
and  not  the  tail." 

"  My  mother  ?    Has  any  one  told  her  ?  " 

"  Wai,  now,  I'm  right  sorry  about  that,  but  it 
got  out  before  you  come  over.  Tarlton  McKenny's 
boy,  Nephi,  rowed  over  in  a  skiff  and  brought  the 
news,  and  some  of  the  women  went  and  tattled  it 
to  your  ma.  I  guess  it  upset  her  considerable.  You 
go  up  and  see  her." 

He  ran  forward  toward  the  head  of  the  train, 
hearing  as  he  went  words  of  sympathy  hurried  to 
him  by  those  he  passed.  Mounting  the  wagon,  he 
climbed  over  the  seat  to  where  his  mother  lay.  She 
seemed  to  sleep  in  spite  of  the  jolting.  The  driver 
called  back  to  him : 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  79 

"  She  took  on  terrible  for  a  spell,  Brother  Rae. 
She's  only  jest  now  got  herself  pacified." 

He  put  his  hand  on  her  forehead  and  found  it 
burning.  She  stirred  and  moaned  and  muttered 
disjointed  sentences.  He  heard  his  father's  name, 
his  sister's,  and  his  own,  and  he  knew  she  was 
delirious.  He  eased  her  bed  as  well  as  he  could, 
and  made  a  place  for  himself  beside  her  where 
he  could  sit  and  take  one  of  the  pale,  thin  hands 
between  his  own  and  try  to  endow  her  with  some  of 
his  abundant  life.  He  stayed  by  her  until  their 
camping-place  was  reached. 

Once  for  a  moment  she  opened  her  eyes  with 
what  seemed  to  him  a  more  than  normal  clearness 
and  understanding  and  memory  in  them.  Though 
she  looked  at  him  long  without  speaking,  she 
seemed  to  say  all  there  was  to  say,  so  that  the 
brief  span  was  full  of  anguish  for  him.  He  sighed 
with  relief  when  the  consciousness  faded  again  from 
her  look,  and  she  fell  to  babbling  once  more  of 
some  long  gone  day  in  her  girlhood. 

When  the  wagon  halted  he  was  called  outside 
by  the  driver,  who  wished  instructions  regarding 
the  camp  to  be  made.  A  few  moments  later  he  was 
back,  and  raised  the  side  of  the  wagon  cover  to 
let  in  the  light.  The  look  on  her  face  alarmed 
him.  It  seemed  to  tell  unmistakably  that  the  great 
change  was  near.  Already  she  looked  moribund. 
An  irregular  gasping  for  breath,  an  occasional  de 
lirious  mutter,  were  the  only  signs  of  life.  She 
was  too  weak  to  show  restlessness.  Her  pinched 


8o  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

and  faded  face  was  covered  with  tiny  cold  beads. 
The  pupils  of  her  eyes  were  strangely  dilated,  and 
the  eyes  themselves  were  glazed.  There  was  no 
pulse  at  her  wrist,  and  from  her  heart  only  the 
faintest  beating  could  be  heard.  In  quick  terror 
he  called  to  a  boy  working  at  a  wagon  near  by. 

"  Go  for  Bishop  Wright  and  tell  him  to  bring 
that  apothecary  with  him." 

The  two  came  up  briskly  a  few  moments  later, 
and  he  stood  aside  for  them  in  an  agony  of  sus 
pense.  The  Bishop  turned  toward  him  after  a  long 
look  into  the  wagon. 

"  She's  gone  to  be  with  your  pa,  Joel.  You 
can't  do  anything  —  only  remember  they're  both 
happy  now  for  bein'  together." 

It  made  little  stir  in  the  busy  encampment.  There 
had  been  other  deaths  while  they  lay  out  on  the 
marshy  river  flats.  Others  of  the  sorry  band  were 
now  sick  unto  death,  and  many  more  would  die 
on  the  long  march  across  the  Iowa  prairie,  dropping 
out  one  by  one  of  fever,  starvation,  exposure.  He 
stood  helpless  in  this  chaos  of  woe,  shut  up  within 
himself,  knowing  not  where  to  turn. 

Some  women  came  presently  from  the  other 
wagons  to  prepare  the  body  for  burial.  He  watched 
them  dumbly,  from  a  maze  of  incredulity,  feeling 
that  some  wretched  pretense  was  being  acted  before 
him. 

The  Bishop  and  Keaton  came  up.  They  brought 
with  them  the  makeshift  coffin.  They  had  cut  a 
log,  split  it,  and  stripped  off  its  bark  in  two  half- 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  81 

cylinders.  They  led  him  to  the  other  side  of  the 
wagon,  out  of  sight.  Then  they  placed  the  strips 
of  bark  around  the  body,  bound  them  with  hickory 
withes,  and  over  the  rough  surface  the  women 
made  a  little  show  of  black  cloth. 

For  the  burial  they  could  do  no  more  than  con 
sign  the  body  to  one  of  the  waves  in  the  great 
billowy  land  sea  about  them.  They  had  no  tomb 
stone,  nor  were  there  even  rocks  to  make  a  simple 
cairn.  He  saw  them  bury  her,  and  thought  there 
was  little  to  choose  between  hers  and  the  grave  of 
his  father,  whose  body  was  being  now  carried  noise 
lessly  down  in  the  bed  of  the  river.  The  general 
locality  would  be  kept  by  landmarks,  by  the  bearing 
of  valley  bends,  headlands,  or  the  fork  and  angles 
of  constant  streams.  But  the  spot  itself  would  in 
a  few  weeks  be  lost. 

When  the  last  office  had  been  performed,  the 
prayer  said,  a  psalm  sung,  and  the  black  dirt  thrown 
in,  they  waited  by  him  in  sympathy.  His  feeling 
was  that  they  had  done  a  monstrous  thing;  that 
the  mother  he  had  known  was  somewhere  alive  and 
well.  He  stood  a  moment  so,  watching  the  sun 
sink  below  the  far  rim  of  the  prairie  while  the 
white  moon  swung  into  sight  in  the  east.  Then  the 
Bishop  led  him  gently  by  the  arm  to  his  own  camp. 

There  cheer  abounded.  They  had  a  huge  camp- 
fire  tended  by  the  Bishop's  numerous  children. 
Near  by  was  a  smaller  fire  over  which  the  good 
man's  four  wives,  able-bodied,  glowing,  and  cor 
dial,  cooked  the  supper.  In  little  ways  they  sought 


82  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

to  lighten  his  sorrow  or  to  put  his  mind  away  from 
it.  To  this  end  the  Bishop  contributed  by  pouring 
him  drink  from  a  large  brown  jug. 

"  Not  that  I  approve  of  it,  boy,  but  it'll  hearten 
you,  —  some  of  the  best  peach  brandy  I  ever  sniffed. 
I  got  it  at  the  still-house  last  week  for  use  in  time 
of  trouble,  —  and  this  here  time  is  it" 

He  drank  the  fiery  stuff  from  the  gourd  in  which 
it  was  given  him,  and  choked  until  they  brought 
him  water.  But  presently  the  warmth  stole  along 
his  cold,  dead  nerves  so  that  he  became  intensely 
alive  from  head  to  foot,  and  strangely  exalted. 
And  when  they  offered  him  food  he  ate  eagerly 
and  talked.  It  seemed  to  him  there  had  been  a 
thousand  matters  that  he  had  long  wished  to  speak 
of;  matters  of  moment  in  which  he  felt  deeply; 
yet  on  which  he  had  strangely  neglected  to  touch 
till  now. 

He  talked  long  with  the  Bishop  when  the  women 
had  climbed  into  their  wagon  for  the  night.  He 
amazed  that  good  man  by  asking  him  if  the  Lord 
would  not  be  pleased  to  have  them,  now,  as  they 
were,  go  back  to  Nauvoo  and  descend  upon  the 
Gentiles  to  smite  them.  The  Bishop  counselled  him 
to  have  patience. 

"  What  could  we  do  now  with  these  few  old 
fusees  and  cheap  arms  that  we  managed  to  smuggle 
across  —  to  say  nothing  of  half  of  us  being  down 
sick?" 

"  But  we  are  Israel,  and  surely  Israel's  God  —  " 

"  The  Lord  had  His  chance  the  other  day  if  He'd 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  83 

wanted  it,  when  they  took  the  town.  No,  Joel,  He 
means  us  to  gether  out  and  become  strong  enough 
to  beat  'em  in  our  own  might.  But  you  wait;  our 
day  will  come,  and  all  the  more  credit  to  us  then  for 
doin'  it  ourselves.  Then  we'll  consecrate  the  herds 
and  flocks  of  the  Gentile  and  his  store  and  basket, 
his  gold  and  silver,  and  his  myrrh  and  frankincense. 
But  for  the  present  —  well,  we  got  to  be  politic  and 
kind  of  modest  about  such  doin's.  The  big  Fan, 
the  Sons  of  Dan,  done  good  work  in  Missouri 
and  better  in  Nauvoo,  and  it'll  do  still  better  where 
we're  goin'.  But  we  must  be  patient.  Only  next 
time  we'll  get  to  work  quicker.  If  the  Gentiles  had 
been  seen  to  quicker  in  Nauvoo,  Joseph  would  be 
with  us  now.  We  learned  our  lesson  there.  Now 
the  Lord  has  unfurled  a  Standard  of  Zion  for  the 
gathering  of  Israel,  and  this  time  we'll  fix  the 
Gentiles  early." 

"  Amen !   Brother  Seth." 

A  look  of  deep  hatred  had  clouded  the  older 
man's  face  as  he  spoke.  He  continued. 

"  Let  the  wrath  of  God  abide  upon  'em,  and  re 
member  that  we're  bein'  tried  and  proved  for  a 
purpose.  And  we  got  to  be  more  practical.  You 
been  too  theoretical  yourself  and  too  high-flyin'  in 
your  notions.  The  Kingdom  ain't  to  be  set  up 
on  earth  by  faith  alone.  The  Lord  has  got  to  have 
works,  like  I  told  you  about  the  other  day." 

"  You  were  right,  Bishop,  I  need  to  be  more 
practical.  The  olive-branch  and  not  the  sword 
would  Ephraim  extend  to  Japheth,  but  if  —  " 


84  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  If  Japheth  don't  toe  the  mark  the  Lord's  will 
must  be  worked  upon  him." 

"  So  be  it,  Brother  Seth !  I  am  ready  now  to  be 
a  Son  of  Dan." 

The  Bishop  rose  from  in  front  of  their  fire  and 
looked  about.  No  one  was  near.  Here  and  there 
a  fire  blazed,  and  the  embers  of  many  more  could 
be  seen  dying  out  in  the  distance.  The  nearest 
camp  was  that  of  the  fever-stricken  man  who  had 
fled  on  to  the  boat  that  morning  with  his  child 
in  his  arms.  They  could  see  his  shaven  head  in 
the  firelight,  and  a  woman  hovering  over  him  as 
he  lay  on  the  ground  with  a  tattered  quilt  fixed 
over  him  in  lieu  of  a  tent.  From  another  group 
came  the  strains  of  an  accordion  and  the  chorus 
of  a  hymn. 

"  That's  right,"  said  the  Bishop.  "  I  knew  you'd 
come  to  it.  I  saw  that  long  ago.  Brother  Brigham 
saw  it,  too.  We  knew  you  could  be  relied  on.  You 
want  the  oath,  do  you?" 

"  Yes,  yes,  Brother  Seth.  I  was  ready  for  it  this 
morning  when  they  told  me  about  father." 

"  Hold  up  your  right  hand  and  repeat  after  me : 

"  *  In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
I  do  covenant  and  agree  to  support  the  first  Presi 
dency  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day 
Saints,  in  all  things  right  or  wrong;  I  will  faith 
fully  guard  them  and  report  to  them  the  acts  of 
all  men  as  far  as  in  my  power  lies;  I  will  assist 
in  executing  all  the  decrees  of  the  first  President, 
Patriarch,  or  President  of  the  Twelve,  and  I  will 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD  85 

cause  all  who  speak  evil  of  the  Presidency  or  Heads 
of  the  Church  to  die  the  death  of  dissenters  or 
apostates,  unless  they  speedily  confess  and  repent, 
for  pestilence,  persecution,  and  death  shall  follow 
the  enemies  of  Zion.  I  will  be  a  swift  herald  of 
salvation  and  messenger  of  peace  to  the  Saints,  and 
I  will  never  make  known  the  secret  purposes  of 
this  Society  called  the  Sons  of  Dan,  my  life  being 
the  forfeiture  in  a  fire  of  burning  tar  and  brim 
stone.  So  help  me  God  and  keep  me  steadfast.' ' 

He  repeated  the  words  without  hesitation,  with 
fervour  in  his  voice,  and  the  light  of  a  holy  and 
implacable  zeal  in  his  face. 

"  Now  I'll  give  you  the  blessing,  too.  Wait  till 
I  get  my  bottle  of  oil." 

He  stepped  to  the  nearest  wagon,  felt  under  the 
cover,  and  came  back  with  a  small  bottle  in  his 
hand. 

"  Stand  jest  here  —  so  —  now !  " 

They  stood  at  the  edge  of  the  wavering  firelight, 
and  he  put  his  hand  on  the  other's  head. 

"  '  In  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Priesthood,  the 
first  President,  Patriarch,  and  High  Priest  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  repre 
senting  the  first,  second,  and  third  Gods  in  Heaven, 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  I  do  now  anoint 
you  with  holy  consecrated  oil,  and  by  the  imposition 
of  my  hands  do  ordain  and  set  you  apart  for  the 
holy  calling  whereunto  you  are  called;  that  you 
may  consecrate  the  riches  of  the  Gentiles  to  the 


86  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

House  of  Israel,  bring  swift  destruction  upon  apos 
tate  sinners,  and  execute  the  decrees  of  Heaven 
without  fear  of  what  man  can  do  with  you.  So 
mote  it  be.  Amen.' 

"  There,  boy,  if  I  ain't  mistaken,  that' s  the  best 
work  for  Zion  that  I  done  for  some  time.  Now  be 
off  to  your  rest !  " 

"  Good  night,  Bishop,  and  thank  you  for  being 
kind  to  me!  The  Church  Poet  called  me  the  Lute 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  I  feel  to-night  that  I  must 
be  another  Lion  of  the  Lord.  Good  night!" 

He  went  out  of  the  firelight  and  stumbled  through 
the  dark  to  his  own  wagons.  But  when  he  came 
to  them  he  could  not  stop.  Under  all  the  exhilara 
tion  he  had  been  conscious  of  the  great  pain  within 
him,  drugged  for  the  moment,  but  never  wholly 
stifled.  Now  the  stimulus  of  the  drink  had  gone, 
and  the  pain  had  awakened  to  be  his  master. 

He  went  past  the  wagons  and  out  on  to  the 
prairie  that  stretched  away,  a  sea  of  silvery  gray  in 
the  moonlight.  As  he  walked,  the  whole  stupen 
dous  load  of  sorrow  settled  upon  him.  His  breath 
caught  and  his  eyes  burned  with  the  tears  that 
lay  behind  them.  He  walked  faster  to  flee  from  it, 
but  it  came  upon  him  more  heavily  until  it  made 
a  breaking  load,  —  the  loss  of  his  sister  by  worse 
than  death,  his  father  and  mother  driven  out  at 
night  and  their  home  burned,  his  father  killed  by 
a  mob  whose  aim  had  lacked  even  the  dignity  of 
the  murderer's  —  for  they  had  seemingly  intended 
but  a  brutal  piece  of  horse-play;  his  mother  dead 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD  87 

from  exposure  due  to  Gentile  persecutions;  the  girl 
he  had  loved  taken  from  him  by  Gentile  persuasions. 
If  only  she  had  been  left  him  so  that  now  he  could 
put  his  head  down  upon  her  shoulder,  slight  as  that 
shoulder  was,  and  feel  the  supreme  soothing  of  a 
woman's  touch;  if  only  the  hurts  had  not  all  come 
at  once!  The  pain  sickened  him.  He  was  far  out 
on  the  prairie  now,  away  from  the  sleeping  encamp 
ment,  and  he  threw  himself  down  to  give  way  to 
his  grief.  Almost  silently  he  wept,  yet  with  sobs 
that  choked  him  and  cramped  him  from  head  to 
foot.  He  called  to  his  mother  and  to  his  father 
and  to  the  sister  who  had  gone  before  them,  crying 
their  names  over  and  over  in  the  night.  But  under 
all  his  sorrow  he  felt  as  great  a  rage  against  the 
Gentile  nation  that  had  driven  them  into  the  wilder 
ness. 

When  the  spasm  of  grief  had  passed,  he  still  lay 
there  a  long  time.  Then  becoming  chilled  he  walked 
again  over  the  prairie,  watching  the  moon  go  down 
and  darkness  come  to  make  the  stars  brighter,  and 
then  the  day  show  gray  in  the  east.  And  as  he 
walked  against  his  sorrow,  the  burden  of  his  thought 
came  to  be :  "  God  has  tried  me  more  than  most 
men;  therefore  he  expects  more  of  me;  and  my 
reward  shall  be  greater.  New  visions  shall  be  given 
to  me,  and  a  new  power,  and  this  poor,  hunted, 
plundered  remnant  of  Israel  shall  find  me  their 
staff.  Much  has  been  taken  from  me,  but  much 
will  be  given  unto  me." 


88  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

And  under  this  ran  a  minor  strain  born  of  the 
rage  that  still  burned  within  him : 

"  But,  oh,  the  day  of  wrath  that  shall  dawn  on 
yonder  Gentiles !  " 

So  did  he  chasten  himself  through  the  night;  and 
when  the  morning  came  he  took  his  place  in  the 
train,  strangely  exalted  by  this  new  sense  of  the 
singular  favour  that  was  to  be  conferred  upon  him. 

For  seven  weeks  the  little  caravan  crept  over  the 
prairies  of  Iowa,  and  day  after  day  his  conviction 
strengthened  that  he  had  been  chosen  for  large 
works.  In  this  fervour  he  cheered  the  sick  and 
the  weak  of  the  party  by  picturing  for  them  a  great 
day  to  come  when  the  Lord  should  exalt  the  valleys 
of  humility  and  abase  the  mountains  of  Gentile 
pride;  when  the  Saints  should  have  their  reward, 
and  retribution  should  descend  upon  the  wicked 
nation  they  were  leaving  behind.  Scourges,  afflic 
tions,  and  depredations  by  fire,  famine,  and  the 
tyrant's  hand  he  besought  them  to  regard  as  marks 
of  Heaven's  especial  favour. 

The  company  came  to  look  upon  him  as  its  cloud 
by  day  and  its  pillar  of  fire  by  night.  Old  women 
—  mothers  in  Israel  —  lavished  attentions  upon  him 
as  a  motherless  boy;  young  women  smiled  at  him 
with  soft  pity,  and  were  meek  and  hushed  when 
he  spoke.  And  the  men  believed  that  the  things 
he  told  them  concerning  their  great  day  to  come 
were  true  revelations  from  God.  They  did  not 
hesitate  to  agree  with  the  good  Bishop  Wright, 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  89 

who  declared  in  words  of  pointed  admiration, 
"  When  that  young  man  gets  all  het  up  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  jest  has  to  give 
down!" 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Some  Inner  Mysteries  Are  Expounded 

THE  hosts  of  Israel  had  been  forced  to  tarry 
for  the  winter  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri. 
A  few  were  on  the  east  side  at  Council  Bluffs 
on  the  land  of  the  Pottawattamie  Indians.  Across 
the  river  on  the  land  of  the  Omahas  the  greater 
part  of  the  force  had  settled  at  what  was  known 
as  Winter  Quarters.  Here  in  huts  of  logs,  turf,  and 
other  primitive  materials,  their  town  had  been  laid 
out  with  streets  and  byways,  a  large  council-house, 
a  mill,  a  stockade,  and  blockhouses.  The  Indians 
had  received  them  with  great  friendliness,  feeling 
with  them  a  common  cause  of  grievance,  since  the 
heavy  hand  of  the  Gentile  had  pushed  them  also 
to  this  bleak  frontier. 

To  this  settlement  early  in  November  came  the 
last  train  from  Nauvoo,  its  members  wearied  and 
wasted  by  the  long  march,  but  staunch  in  their 
faith  and  with  hope  undimmed.  It  was  told  in 
after  years  how  there  had  leaped  from  the  van  of 
this  train  a  very  earnest  young  man,  who  had  at 
once  sought  an  audience  with  Brigham  Young  and 

90 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD  91 

certain  other  members  of  the  Twelve  who  had 
chanced  to  be  present  at  the  train's  arrival;  and 
how,  being  closeted  with  these,  he  had  eagerly  in 
quired  if  it  might  not  be  the  will  of  the  Lord  that 
they  should  go  no  farther  into  the  wilderness,  but 
stand  their  ground  and  give  battle  to  the  Gentiles 
forthwith.  He  made  the  proposal  as  one  who  had 
a  flawless  faith  that  the  God  of  Battles  would  be 
with  them,  and  he  appeared  to  believe  that  some 
thing  might  be  done  that  very  day  to  force  the 
matter  to  an  issue.  When  he  had  made  his  proposal, 
he  waited  in  a  modest  attitude  to  hear  their  views 
of  it.  To  his  chagrin,  all  but  two  of  those  who 
had  listened  laughed.  One  of  these  two,  Bishop 
Snow,  —  a  man  of  holy  aspect  whom  the  Church 
Poet  had  felicitously  entitled  the  Entablature  of 
Truth,  —  had  looked  at  him  searchingly,  then  put 
his  hand  upon  his  own  head  and  shaken  it  hopelessly 
to  the  others. 

The  other  who  had  not  laughed  was  Brigham 
himself.  For  to  this  great  man  had  been  given 
the  gift  to  look  upon  men  and  to  know  in  one  slow 
sweep  of  his  wonderful  eyes  all  their  strength  and 
all  their  weakness.  He  had  listened  with  close 
attention  to  the  remarkable  plan  suggested  by  this 
fiery  young  zealot,  and  he  studied  him  now  with  a 
gaze  that  was  kind.  A  noticeable  result  of  this 
attitude  of  Brigham's  was  that  those  who  had 
laughed  became  more  or  less  awkwardly  silent,  while 
the  Entablature  of  Truth,  in  the  midst  of  his  pan 
tomime,  froze  into  amazement. 


92  THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  We'd  better  consider  that  a  little,"  said  Brig- 
ham,  finally.  "  You  can  talk  it  over  with  me  to 
night.  But  first  you  go  get  your  stuff  unloaded 
and  get  kind  of  settled.  There's  a  cabin  just  be 
yond  my  two  up  the  street  here  that  you  can  move 
into."  He  put  his  large  hand  kindly  on  the  other's 
shoulder.  "  Now  run  and  get  fixed  and  come  to 
my  house  for  supper  along  about  dark." 

Somewhat  cooled  by  the  laughter  of  the  others, 
but  flattered  by  this  consideration  from  the  Prophet, 
the  young  man  had  gone  thoughtfully  out  to  his 
wagons  and  driven  on  to  the  cabin  indicated. 

"  I  did  think  he  was  plumb  crazy,"  said  Bishop 
Snow,  doubtfully,  as  if  the  reasons  for  changing  his 
mind  were  even  yet  less  than  compelling. 

"He  ain't  crazy"  said  Brigham.  "All  that's 
the  matter  with  him,  he's  got  more  faith  than  the 
whole  pack  of  us  put  together.  You  just  remember 
he  ain't  like  us.  We  was  all  converted  after  we 
got  our  second  teeth,  while  he's  had  it  from  the 
cradle  up.  He's  the  first  one  we've  caught  young. 
He's  what  the  priesthood  can  turn  out  when  they 
get  a  full  swing  with  the  rising  generation.  We 
got  to  remember  that.  We  old  birds  had  to  learn 
to  crow  in  middle  life.  These  young  ones  will 
crow  stronger;  they'll  out-crow  us.  But  all  the 
better  for  that.  They'll  be  mighty  brash  at  first, 
but  all  they  need  is  to  be  held  in  a  little,  and  then 
they'll  be  a  power  in  the  Kingdom." 

"  Well,  of  course  you're  right,  Brother  Brigham, 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  93 

but  that  boy  certainly  needs  a  check-rein  and  a 
curb-bit  right  now,"  said  Snow. 

"  He'll  have  his  needings,"  answered  Brigham, 
shortly,  and  the  informal  council  dispersed. 

Brigham  talked  to  him  late  that  night,  advancing 
many  cogent  reasons  why  it  should  be  unwise  to 
make  war  at  once  upon  the  nation  of  Gentiles  to 
the  east.  Of  these  reasons  the  one  that  had  greatest 
weight  with  his  listener  was  the  assurance  that 
such  a  course  would  not  at  present  be  pleasing  in 
the  sight  of  God.  To  others,  touching  upon  the 
matter  of  superior  forces  they  might  have  to  con 
tend  with,  he  was  loftily  inattentive. 

Having  made  this  much  clear,  Brigham  went  on 
in  his  fatherly  way  to  impress  him  anew  with  the 
sinfulness  of  all  temporal  governments  outside  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  Again 
he  learned  from  the  lips  of  authority  that  any  people 
presuming  to  govern  themselves  by  laws  of  their 
own  making  and  officers  of  their  own  appointing, 
are  in  wicked  rebellion  against  the  Kingdom  of 
God ;  that  for  seventeen  hundred  years  the  nations 
of  the  Western  Hemisphere  have  been  destitute 
of  this  Kingdom  and  destitute  of  all  legal  govern 
ment  ;  and  that  the  Lord  was  now  about  to  rend  all 
earthly  governments,  to  cast  down  thrones,  over 
throw  nations,  and  make  a  way  for  the  establish 
ment  of  the  everlasting  Kingdom,  to  which  all  others 
would  have  to  yield,  or  be  prostrated  never  more 
to  rise.  Thus  was  the  rebuff  of  the  afternoon 
gracefully  atoned  for. 


94  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

From  matters  of  civil  government  the  talk  ranged 
to  affairs  domestic. 

"  Tell  me/'  said  the  young  man,  "  the  truth  of 
this  new  order  of  celestial  marriage."  And  Brig- 
ham  had  become  animated  at  once. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  when  the  family  organisation 
was  revealed  from  Heaven,  and  Joseph  began  on 
the  right  and  the  left  to  add  to  his  family,  oh,  dear, 
what  a  quaking  there  was  in  Israel!  But  there 
it  was,  plain  enough.  When  you  have  received 
your  endowments,  keys,  blessings,  all  the  tokens, 
signs,  and  every  preparatory  ordinance  that  can  be 
given  to  a  man  for  his  entrance  through  the  celestial 
gate,  then  you  can  see  it." 

He  gazed  a  moment  into  the  fire  of  hickory  logs 
before  which  they  sat,  and  then  went  on,  more 
confidentially  : 

"  Now  you  take  that  promise  to  Abraham  — 
'  Lift  up  your  eyes  and  behold  the  stars.  So  shall 
thy  seed  be  as  numberless  as  the  stars.  Go  to  the 
seashore  and  look  at  the  sand,  and  behold  the  small- 
ness  of  the  particles  thereof  '  —  I  am  giving  you  the 
gist  of  the  Lord's  words,  you  understand  — '  and 
then  realise  that  your  seed  shall  be  as  numberless 
as  those  sands.'  Now  think  for  a  minute  how 
many  particles  there  are,  say  in  a  cubit  foot  of 
sand  —  about  one  thousand  million  particles.  Think 
of  that !  In  eight  thousand  years,  if  the  inhabitants 
of  earth  increased  one  trillion  a  century,  three  cubic 
yards  of  sand  would  still  contain  more  particles 
than  there  would  be  people  on  the  whole  globe. 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  95 

Yet  there  you  got  the  promise  of  the  Lord  in  black 
and  white.  Now  how  was  Abraham  to  manage 
to  get  a  foundation  laid  for  this  mighty  kingdom? 
Was  he  to  get  it  all  through  one  wife?  Don't  you 
see  how  ridiculous  that  is  ?  Sarah  saw  it,  and  Sarah 
knew  that  unless  seed  was  raised  to  Abraham  he 
would  come  short  of  his  glory.  So  what  did  Sarah 
do?  She  gave  Abraham  a  certain  woman  whose 
name  was  Hagar,  and  by  her  a  seed  was  to  be  raised 
up  unto  him.  And  was  that  all?  No.  We  read 
of  his  wife  Keturah,  and  also  of  a  plurality  of 
wives  which  he  had  in  the  sight  and  favour  of 
God,  and  from  whom  he  raised  up  many  sons. 
There,  then,  was  a  foundation  laid  for  the  fulfil 
ment  of  that  grand  promise  concerning  his  seed." 

He  peered  again  into  the  fire,  and  added,  by  way 
of  clenching  his  argument :  "  I  guess  it  would  have 
been  rather  slow-going,  if  the  Lord  had  confined 
Abraham  to  one  wife,  like  some  of  these  narrow, 
contracted  nations  of  modern  Christianity.  You 
see,  they  don't  know  that  a  man's  posterity  in  this 
world  is  to  constitute  his  glory  and  kingdom  and 
dominion  in  the  world  to  come,  and  they  don't 
know,  either,  that  there  are  thousands  of  choice 
spirits  in  the  spirit  world  waiting  to  tabernacle  in 
the  flesh.  Of  course,  there  are  lots  of  these  things 
that  you  ain't  ready  to  hear  yet,  but  now  you  know 
that  polygamy  is  necessary  for  our  exaltation  to 
the  fulness  of  the  Lord's  glory  in  the  eternal  world, 
and  after  you  study  it  you'll  like  the  doctrine.  I 
do ;  I  can  swallow  it  without  greasing  my  mouth ! " 


96  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

He  prayed  that  night  to  be  made  "  holy  as  Thy 
servant  Brigham  is  holy;  to  hear  Thy  voice  as  he 
hears  it;  to  be  made  as  wise  as  he,  as  true  as  he, 
even  as  another  Lion  of  the  Lord,  so  that  I  may  be 
a  rod  and  staff  and  comforter  to  these  buffeted 
children  of  Thine." 

His  prayer  also  touched  on  one  of  the  matters 
of  their  talk.  "  But,  O  Lord,  teach  me  to  be  con 
tent  without  thrones  and  dominion  in  Thy  King 
dom  if  to  gain  these  I  must  have  many  wives. 
Teach  me  to  abase  myself,  to  be  a  servant,  a  lowly 
sweeper  in  the  temple  of  the  Most  High,  for  I 
would  rather  be  lowly  with  her  I  love  than  exalted 
to  any  place  whatsoever  with  many.  Keep  in  my 
sinful  heart  the  face  of  her  who  has  left  me  to  dwell 
among  the  Gentiles,  whose  hair  is  melted  gold, 
whose  eyes  are  azure  deep  as  the  sky,  and  whose 
arms  once  opened  warm  for  me.  Guard  her  espe 
cially,  O  Lord,  while  she  must  company  with  Gen 
tiles,  for  she  is  not  wonted  to  their  wiles;  and  in 
Thine  own  good  time  bring  her  head  unharmed 
to  its  home  on  Thy  servant's  breast." 

He  fasted  often,  that  winter,  waiting  and  watch 
ing  for  his  great  Witness  —  something  that  should 
testify  to  his  mortal  eyes  the  direct  favour  of 
Heaven.  He  fasted  and  kept  vigils  and  studied  the 
mysteries ;  for  now  he  was  among  the  favoured  to 
whom  light  had  been  given  in  abundance  —  men  at 
whose  feet  he  was  eager  to  sit.  He  learned  of 
baptism  for  the  dead;  of  the  Godship  of  Adam, 
and  his  plurality  of  wives;  of  the  laws  of  adoption 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD  97 

and  the  process  by  which  the  Saints  were  to  people, 
and  be  Gods  to,  earths  yet  formless. 

There  was  much  work  out  of  doors  to  be  done, 
and  of  this  he  performed  his  share,  working  side 
by  side  with  the  tireless  Brigham.  But  there  were 
late  afternoons  and  long  evenings  in  which  he  sat 
with  the  Prophet  to  his  great  advantage.  For, 
strangely  enough,  the  two  men,  so  unlike,  were 
drawn  closely  together  —  Brigham  Young,  the 
broad-headed,  square-chinned  buttress  of  physical 
vitality,  the  full-blooded,  clarion-voiced  Lion  of  the 
Lord,  self-contained,  watchful,  radiating  the  power 
that  men  feel  and  obey  without  knowing  why,  and 
Joel  Rae,  of  the  long,  narrow,  delicately  featured 
face,  sensitive,  nervous,  glowing  with  a  spiritual 
zeal,  the  Lute  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whose  veins  ran 
fire  instead  of  blood.  One  born  to  command,  to 
domineer;  the  other  to  believe,  to  worship,  and  to 
obey.  For  the  younger  man  it  was  a  winter  of  limit 
less  aspiration  and  chastening  discipline.  In  spite 
of  the  great  sorrows  that  weighed  upon  him,  the 
sudden  sweeping  away  of  those  he  had  held  most 
dear  and  the  blasting  of  his  love  hopes,  he  remem 
bered  it  through  all  the  eventful  years  that  followed 
as  a  time  of  strange  happiness.  Memories  of  it 
came  gratefully  to  him  even  on  the  awful  day  when 
at  last  his  Witness  came ;  when,  as  he  lay  fainting 
in  the  desert,  driven  thence  by  his  sin,  the  heavens 
unfolded  and  a  vision  was  vouchsafed  him ;  —  when 
the  foundations  of  his  world  were  shattered,  the 
tables  of  the  law  destroyed,  and  but  one  little  feather 


98  THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

saved  to  his  famished  soul  from  the  wings  of  the 
dove  of  truth.  After  all  these  years,  the  memory 
of  this  winter  was  a  spot  of  joy  that  never  failed 
to  glow  when  he  recalled  it. 

At  night  he  went  to  his  bunk  in  the  little  straw- 
roofed  hut  and  fell  asleep  to  the  howling  of  the 
wolves,  his  mind  cradled  in  the  thought  of  his 
mission.  He  had  a  part  in  the  great  work  of  bring 
ing  into  harmony  the  labours  of  the  prophets  and 
apostles  of  all  ages.  In  due  time,  by  the  especial 
favour  of  Heaven,  he  would  be  wrapped  in  a  sea 
of  vision,  shown  an  eternity  of  knowledge,  and  be 
intrusted  with  singular  powers.  And  he  was  con 
tent  to  wait  out  the  days  in  which  he  must  school, 
chasten,  and  prove  himself. 

"  You  have  built  me  up,"  he  confided  to  Brig- 
ham,  one  day.  "  I  feel  to  rejoice  in  my  strength." 
And  Brigham  was  highly  pleased. 

"  That's  good,  Brother  Joel.  The  host  of  Israel 
will  soon  be  on  the  move,  and  I  shouldn't  wonder 
if  the  Lord  had  a  great  work  for  you.  I  can  see 
places  where  you'll  be  just  the  tool  he  needs.  I  mis 
trust  we  sha'n't  have  everything  peaceful  even  now. 
The  priest  in  the  pulpit  is  thorning  the  politician 
against  us,  gouging  him  from  underneath  —  he'd 
never  dare  do  it  openly,  for  our  Elders  could  crim 
son  his  face  with  shame  —  and  the  minions  of  the 
mob'  may  be  after  us  again.  If  they  do,  I  can 
see  where  you  will  be  a  tower  of  strength  in  your 
own  way." 

"  It's  all  of  my  life,  Brother  Brigham.*' 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD  99 

"  I  believe  it.  I  guess  the  time  has  come  to 
make  you  an  Elder." 

And  so  on  a  late  winter  afternoon  in  the  quiet 
of  the  Council-House,  Joel  Rae  was  ordained  an 
Elder  after  the  order  of  Melchisedek;  with  power 
to  preach  and  administer  in  all  the  ordinances  of 
the  Church,  to  lay  on  hands,  to  confirm  all  baptised 
persons,  to  anoint  the  afflicted  with  oil,  and  to  seal 
upon  them  the  blessings  of  health. 

In  his  hard,  narrow  bed  that  night,  where  the 
cold  came  through  the  unchinked  logs  and  the  wind 
brought  him  the  wailing  of  the  wolves,  he  prayed 
that  he  might  not  be  too  much  elated  by  this  ex 
traordinary  distinction. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

A  Revelation  from  the  Lord  and  a  Toast  from 
Brigham 

FROM  his  little  one-roomed  cabin,  dark,  smoky, 
littered  with  hay,  old  blankets,  and  skins,  he 
heard  excited  voices  outside,  one  early  morn 
ing  in  January.     He  opened  the  door  and  found 
a  group  of  men  discussing  a  miracle  that  had  been 
wrought    overnight.      The    Lord    had    spoken    to 
Brigham  and  word  had  come  to  Zion  to  move  to 
ward  the  west. 

He  hurried  over  to  Brigham's  house  and  by  that 
good  man  was  shown  the  word  of  the  Lord  as  it 
had  been  written  down  from  his  lips.  With  emo 
tions  of  reverential  awe  he  read  the  inspired  docu 
ment. 

"  The  Word  and  Will  of  the  Lord  Concerning 
the  Camp  of  Israel  in  its  Journeyings  to  the  West." 
Such  was  its  title. 

"  Let  all  the  people,"  it  began,  "  of  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  be  organised 
into  companies  with  a  covenant  and  a  promise  to 
keep  all  the  statutes  of  the  Lord  our  God. 

100 


THE   LIONS   OF    THE   LORD         ioi 

"Let  the  companies  be  organised  with  captains'1 
of  hundreds  and  captains  of  fifties  and  captains  of 
tens,  with  a  President  and  Counsellor  at  their 
head  under  the  direction  of  the  Twelve  Apostles. 

"  Let  each  company  provide  itself  with  all  the 
teams,  wagons,  provisions,  and  all  other  necessaries 
for  the  journey. 

"  Let  every  man  use  all  of  his  influence  and 
property  to  remove  this  people  to  the  place  where 
the  Lord  shall  locate  a  stake  of  Zion,  and  let  them 
share  equally  in  taking  the  poor,  the  widows,  and 
the  fatherless,  so  that  their  cries  come  not  up  into 
the  ears  of  the  Lord  against  His  people. 

"  And  if  ye  do  this  with  a  pure  heart,  with  all 
faithfulness,  ye  shall  be  blessed  in  your  flocks  and 
in  your  herds  and  in  your  fields  and  in  your  families. 
For  I  am  the  Lord  your  God,  even  the  God  of  your 
fathers,  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob. 
I  am  He  who  led  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  and  my  arm  is  stretched  out  in 
these  last  days  to  save  my  people  of  Israel. 

"  Fear  not  thine  enemies,  for  they  are  in  my 
hands,  and  I  will  do  my  pleasure  with  them. 

"  My  people  must  be  tried  in  all  things,  that 
they  may  be  worthy  to  receive  the  glory  that  I 
have  in  store  for  them,  even  the  glory  of  Zion; 
and  he  that  will  not  receive  chastisement  is  not 
worthy  of  my  Kingdom.  So  no  more  at  present. 
Amen  and  Amen !  " 

This  was  what  he  had  longed  for  each  winter 
night  when  he  had  seen  the  sun  go  down,  —  the 


102         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

word  of  the  Lord  to  follow  that  sun  on  over  the 
rim  into  the  pathless  wilderness,  infested  by  savage 
tribes  and  ravenous  beasts,  abounding  in  terrors 
unknown.  There  was  an  adventure  worth  while  in 
the  sight  of  God.  It  had  never  ceased  to  thrill 
him  since  he  first  heard  it  broached,  —  the  mad 
plan  of  a  handful  of  persecuted  believers,  setting 
out  from  civilisation  to  found  Zion  in  the  wilder- 
ness,  —  to  go  forth  a  thousand  miles  from  Chris 
tendom  with  nothing  but  stout  arms  and  a  very 
living  faith  in  the  God  of  Israel,  and  in  Joseph 
Smith  as  his  prophet,  meeting  death  in  famine, 
plagues,  and  fevers,  freezing  in  the  snows  of  the 
mountains,  thirsting  to  death  on  the  burning  deserts, 
being  devoured  by  ravening  beasts  or  tortured  to 
death  by  the  sinful  Lamanites;  but  persisting 
through  it  all  with  dauntless  courage  to  a  final 
triumph  so  glorious  that  the  very  Gods  would  be 
compelled  to  applaud  the  spectacle  of  their  devoted 
heroism. 

And  now  he  was  face  to  face  with  the  awful,  the 
glorious,  the  divinely  ordained  fact.  It  was  like 
standing  before  the  Throne  of  Grace  itself.  Out 
over  that  western  skyline  was  a  spot,  now  hidden 
and  defended  by  all  the  powers  of  Satan,  where 
the  Ten  Tribes  would  be  restored,  where  Zion 
would  be  rebuilt,  where  Christ  would  reign  per 
sonally  on  earth  a  thousand  years,  and  from  whence 
the  earth  would  be  renewed  and  receive  again  its 
paradisiac  glory.  The  thought  overwhelmed. 

"If  we  could  only  start  at  once!  '     he  said  to 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         103 

Bishop  Wright,  who  had  read  the  revelation  with 
him.  But  the  canny  Bishop's  religious  zeal  was 
henceforth  to  be  tempered  by  the  wisdom  of  the 
children  of  darkness. 

"  No  more  travelling  in  this  kind  of  a  time  for  the 
Saints,"  the  Bishop  replied.  "  We  got  our  full 
of  that  when  we  first  left  Nauvoo.  We  had  to 
scrape  snow  from  the  ground  and  set  up  tents 
when  it  was  fifteen  or  twenty  below  zero,  and  nine 
children  born  one  night  in  that  weather.  Of  course 
it  was  better  than  staying  at  Nauvoo  to  be  shot; 
but  no  one  is  going  to  shoot  us  here,  so  here  we'll 
tarry  till  grass  grows  and  water  runs." 

"  But  there  was  a  chance  to  show  devotion, 
Brother  Seth.  Think  how  precious  it  must  have 
been  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord." 

"  Well,  the  Lord  knows  we're  devoted  now,  so 
we'll  wait  till  it  fairs  up.  Well  have  Zion  built 
in  good  time  and  a  good  gospel  fence  built  around 
it,  elk-high  and  bull-tight,  like  we  used  to  say  in 
Missouri.  But  it's  a  long  ways  over  yender,  and 
while  I  ain't  ever  had  any  revelations  myself,  I'm 
pretty  sure  the  Lord  means  to  have  me  toler'bly 
well  fed,  and  my  back  kept  bone-dry  on  the  way. 
And  we  got  to  have  fat  horses  and  fat  cattle,  not 
these  bony  critters  with  no  juice  in  'em.  Did  you 
hear  what  Brother  Heber  got  off  the  other  day? 
He  butchered  a  beef  and  was  sawing  it  up  when 
Brother  Brighnm  passed  by.  '  Looks  hard.  Brother 
Heber/  says  Brother  Brigham.  '  Hard,  Brother 
Brigham?  Why,  I've  had  to  grease  the  saw  to 


104         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

make  it  work ! '  Yes,  sir,  had  to  grease  his  saw 
to  make  it  work  through  that  bony  old  heifer. 
Now  we  already  passed  through  enough  pinches 
not  to  go  out  lookin'  for  'em  any  more.  Why, 
I  tell  you,  young  man,  if  I  knew  any  place  where 
the  pinches  was  at,  you'd  see  me  comin'  the  other 
way  like  a  bat  out  of  hell !  " 

And  so  the  ardent  young  Elder  was  compelled 
to  curb  his  spirit  until  the  time  when  grass  should 
grow  and  water  run.  Yet  he  was  not  alone  in 
feeling  this  impatience  for  the  start.  Through  all 
the  settlement  had  thrilled  a  response  to  the  Lord's 
word  as  revealed  to  his  servant  Brigham.  The  God 
of  Israel  was  to  be  with  them  on  the  march,  and 
old  and  young  were  alike  impatient. 

Early  in  April  the  life  began  to  stir  more  briskly 
in  the  great  camp  that  sprawled  along  either  side  of 
the  swollen,  muddy  river.  From  dawn  to  dark  each 
day  the  hills  echoed  with  the  noise  of  many  works, 
the  streets  were  alive  with  men  and  women  going 
and  coming  on  endless  errands,  and  with  excited 
children  playing  at  games  inspired  by  the  occasion. 
Wagons  were  mended  and  loaded  with  provisions 
and  tools,  oxen  shod,  ox-bows  renewed,  guns  put 
in  order,  bullets  moulded,  and  the  thousand  details 
perfected  of  a  migration  so  hazardous.  They  were 
busy,  noisy,  excited,  happy  days. 

At  last,  in  the  middle  of  April,  the  signs  were 
seen  to  be  right.  Grass  grew  and  water  ran,  and 
their  part,  allotted  by  the  Lord,  was  to  brave  the 
dangers  of  that  forbidding  land  that  lay  under  the 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         105 

western  sun.  Then  came  a  day  of  farewells  and 
merry-making.  In  the  afternoon,  the  day  being 
mild  and  sunny,  there  was  a  dance  in  the  bowery,  — 
a  great  arbour  made  of  poles  and  brush  and  wat 
tling.  Here,  where  the  ground  had  been  trodden 
firm,  the  age  and  maturity  as  well  as  the  youth  and 
beauty  of  Israel  gathered  in  such  poor  festal  array 
as  they  had  been  able  to  save  from  their  ravaged 
stores. 

The  Twelve  Apostles  led  off  in  a  double  cotillion, 
to  the  moving  strains  of  a  violin  and  horn,  the 
lively  jingle  of  a  string  of  sleigh-bells,  and  the  genial 
snoring  of  a  tambourine.  Then  came  dextrous 
displays  in  the  dances  of  our  forbears,  who  followed 
the  fiddle  to  the  Fox-chase  Inn  or  Garden  of  Gray's 
Ferry.  There  were  French  Fours,  Copenhagen 
jigs,  Virginia  reels,  —  spirited  figures  blithely 
stepped.  And  the  grave-faced,  square-jawed  Elders 
seemed  as  eager  as  the  unthinking  youths  and 
maidens  to  throw  off  for  the  moment  the  burden 
of  their  cares. 

From  midday  until  the  April  sun  dipped  below 
the  sharp  skyline  of  the  Omaha  hills,  the  modest 
revel  endured.  Then  silence  was  called  by  a  grim- 
faced,  hard-voiced  Elder,  who  announced: 

"  The  Lute  of  the  Holy  Ghost  will  now  say  a 
word  of  farewell  from  our  pioneers  to  those  who 
must  stay  behind." 

He  stood  before  them  erect,  brave,  confident ;  and 
the  fire  of  his  faith  warmed  his  voice  into  their 
hearts. 


106         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  Children  of  Israel,  we  are  going  into  the  wilder 
ness  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  temple  to  the  most 
high  God,  so  that  when  his  Son,  our  elder  Brother, 
shall  come  on  earth  again,  He  may  have  a  place 
where  He  can  lay  His  head  and  spend,  not  only  a 
night  or  a  day,  but  rest  until  He  can  say,  *  I  am 
satisfied ! '  —  a  place,  too,  where  you  can  obtain 
the  ordinances  of  salvation  for  yourselves,  your 
living,  and  your  dead.  Let  your  prayers  go  with 
us.  We  have  been  thrust  out  of  Babylon,  but  to 
our  eternal  salvation.  We  care  no  more  for  per 
secution  than  for  the  whistle  of  the  north  wind, 
the  croaking  of  the  crane  that  flies  over  our  heads, 
or  the  crackling  of  thorns  under  a  pot.  True,  some 
of  our  dearest,  our  best-loved,  have  dropped  by  the 
way ;  they  have  fallen  asleep,  but  what  of  that  ?  — 
and  who  cares?  It  is  as  well  to  live  as  to  die,  or 
to  die  as  to  live  —  as  well  to  sleep  as  to  be  awake. 
It  is  all  one.  They  have  only  gone  a  little  before 
us;  and  we  shall  soon  strike  hands  with  them 
across  those  poor,  mean,  empty  graves  back  there 
on  the  forlorn  prairies  of  Iowa.  For  you  must 
let  me  clench  this  God's  truth  into  your  minds ;  that 
you  stand  now  in  your  last  lot,  in  the  end  of  your 
days  when  the  Son  of  Man  cometh  again.  Afflic 
tions  shall  be  sent  to  humble  and  to  prove  you,  but 
oh !  stand  fast  to  your  teachings  so  that  not  one  of 
you  may  be  lost.  May  sinners  in  Zion  become  afraid 
henceforth,  and  fearfulness  surprise  the  hypocrite 
from  this  hour!  And  now  may  the  favour  and 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         107 

blessing  of  God  be  manifest  upon  you  while  we 
are  absent  from  one  another !  " 

When  the  fervent  amens  had  died  away  they 
sang  the  farewell  hymn:  — 

"  Thrones  shall  totter,  Babel  fall, 
Satan  reign  no  more  at  all ; 

41  Saints  shall  gain  the  victory, 
Truth  prevail  o'er  land  and  sea ; 

"  Gentile  tyrants  sink  to  hell; 
Now's  the  day  of  Israel." 

The  words  of  the  young  Elder  were  felt  to  be 
highly  consoling;  but  a  toast  given  by  Brigham 
that  night  was  longer  talked  of.  It  was  at  a  fare 
well  party  at  the  house  of  Bishop  Wright.  On  the 
hay-covered  floor  of  the  banquet-room,  amid  the 
lights  of  many  candles  hung  from  the  ceiling  and 
about  the  walls  in  their  candelabra  of  hollowed 
turnips,  the  great  man  had  been  pleased  to  proph 
esy  blessings  profusely  upon  the  assembled  guests. 

"  I  am  awful  proud,"  he  began,  "  of  the  way  the 
Lord  has  favoured  us.  I  am  proud  all  the  time  of 
his  Elders,  his  servants,  and  his  handmaids.  And 
when  they  do  well  I  am  prouder  still.  I  don't  know 
but  I'll  get  so  proud  that  I'll  be  four  or  five  times 
prouder  than  I  am  now.  As  I  once  said  to  Sid 
ney  Rigdon,  our  boat  is  an  old  snag  boat  and  has 
never  been  out  of  Snag-harbour.  But  it  will  root 
up  the  snags,  run  them  down,  split  them,  and 
scatter  them  to  the  four  quarters.  Our  ship  is  the 


io8         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

old  ship  of  Zion;  and  nothing  that  runs  foul  of 
her  can  withstand  her  shock  and  fury." 

Then  had  followed  the  toast,  which  was  long  re 
membered  for  its  dauntless  spirit. 

"  Here's  wishing  that  all  the  mobocrats  of  the 
nineteenth  century  were  in  the  middle  of  the  sea, 
in  a  stone  canoe,  with  an  iron  paddle;  that  a  shark 
would  swallow  the  canoe,  and  the  shark  be  thrust 
into  the  nethermost  part  of  hell,  with  the  door 
locked,  the  key  lost,  and  a  blind  man  looking  for  it!  " 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Into   the   Wilderness 

ON  to  the  West  at  last  to  build  the  house  of  God 
in  the  mountains.  On  to  what  Daniel  Web 
ster  had  lately  styled  "  a  region  of  savages 
and  wild  beasts,  of  deserts,  of  shifting  sands  and 
whirlwinds  of  dust,  of  cactus  and  prairie-dogs." 
The  little  band  of  pioneers  chosen  to  break  a  way 
for  the  main  body  of  the  Saints  consisted  of  a  hun 
dred  and  forty-three  men,  three  women,  and  two 
children.  They  were  to  travel  in  seventy-three 
wagons,  drawn  by  horses  and  oxen.  They  knew  not 
where  they  were  to  stop,  but  they  were  men  of  eager 
initiative,  fearless  and  determined;  and  their  con 
solation  was  that,  while  their  exodus  into  the  desert 
meant  hardship  and  grievous  suffering,  it  also  prom 
ised  them  freedom  from  Gentile  interference.  It  was 
not  a  fat  land  into  which  they  were  venturing;  but 
at  least  it  was  a  land  without  a  past,  lying  clean  as 
it  came  from  the  hand  of  its  maker,  where  they 
could  be  free  to  worship  God  without  fearing  the 
narrow  judgment  of  the  frivolous.  Instructed  in 
the  sacred  mysteries  revealed  to  Joseph  Smith 

109 


no         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

through  the  magic  light  of  the  Urim  and  Thummim, 
and  sustained  by  the  divine  message  engraved  on 
the  golden  plates  he  had  dug  up  from  the  hill  of 
Cumorah,  they  were  now  ready  to  feel  their  way 
across  the  continent  and  blaze  a  trail  to  the  new 
Jerusalem. 

They  went  in  military  style  with  due  precautions 
against  surprise  by  the  Lamanites  —  the  wretched 
red  remnant  of  Abraham's  seed  —  that  swarmed 
on  every  side. 

Brigham  Young  was  lieutenant-general;  Ste 
phen  Markham  was  colonel;  the  redoubtable  John 
Pack  was  first  major,  and  Shadrach  Roundy, 
second.  There  were  two  captains  of  hundreds  and 
fourteen  captains  of  tens.  The  orders  of  the  lieu 
tenant-general  required  each  man  to  walk  con 
stantly  beside  his  wagon,  leaving  it  only  by  his 
officer's  commands.  To  make  the  force  compact, 
the  wagons  were  to  move  two  abreast  where  they 
could.  Every  man  was  to  keep  his  weapons  loaded. 
If  the  gun  was  a  caplock,  the  cap  was  to  be  taken  off 
and  a  piece  of  leather  put  on  to  exclude  moisture 
and  dirt;  if  a  flintlock,  the  filling  was  to  be  taken 
out  and  the  pan  filled  with  tow  or  cotton. 

Their  march  was  not  only  cautious  but  orderly. 
At  five  A.  M.  the  bugle  sounded  for  rising,  two 
hours  being  allowed  for  prayers  and  breakfast.  At 
night  each  man  had  to  retire  to  his  wagon  for  prayer 
at  eight-thirty,  and  to  rest  at  nine.  If  they  camped 
by  a  river  they  drew  the  wagons  into  a  semicircle 
with  the  river  at  its  base.  Other  times  the  wagons 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         in 

made  a  circle,  a  fore-wheel  of  one  touching  a  rear 
wheel  of  the  next,  thus  providing  a  corral  for  the 
stock.  In  such  manner  was  the  wisdom  of  the  Lord 
concerning  this  hegira  supplemented  in  detail  by 
the  worldly  forethought  of  his  servant  Brigham. 

They  started  along  the  north  bank  of  the  Platte 
River  under  the  auspicious  shine  of  an  April  sun. 
A  better  route  was  along  the  south  bank  where 
grass  was  more  plentiful  and  the  Indians  less 
troublesome.  But  along  the  south  bank  parties  of 
migrating  Gentiles  might  also  be  met,  and  these  sons 
of  perdition  were  to  be  avoided  at  any  cost  —  "  at 
least  for  the  present,"  said  Brigham,  in  tones  of 
sage  significance. 

And  so  for  two  hundred  miles  they  broke  a  new 
way  over  the  plains,  to  be  known  years  after  as  "  the 
old  Mormon  trail,"  to  be  broadened  later  by  the 
gold-seekers  of  forty-nine,  and  still  later  to  be  shod 
with  steel,  when  the  miracle  of  a  railway  was  worked 
in  the  desert. 

To  Joel  Rae,  Elder  after  the  order  of  Melchisedek, 
unsullied  product  of  the  temple  priesthood,  it  was 
a  time  of  wondrous  soul-growth.  In  that  myste 
rious  realm  of  pathless  deserts,  of  illimitable  prairies 
and  boundless  plains,  of  nameless  rivers  and  co 
lossal  hills,  a  land  of  dreams,  of  romance,  of  mar 
vellous  adventure,  he  felt  strange  powers  growing 
within  him.  It  seemed  that  in  such  a  place  the  one 
who  opened  his  soul  to  heaven  must  become 
endowed  with  all  those  singular  gifts  he  had  longed 
for.  He  looked  confidently  forward  to  the  time 


112         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

when  they  should  regard  him  as  a  man  who  could 
work  miracles. 

At  the  head  of  Grand  Island  they  came  to  vast 
herds  of  buffalo  —  restless  brown  seas  of  humped, 
shaggy  backs  and  fiercely  lowered  heads.  In  their 
first  efforts  to  slay  these  they  shot  them  full  in  the 
forehead,  and  were  dismayed  to  find  that  their 
bullets  rebounded  harmlessly.  They  solved  the 
mystery  later,  discovering  the  hide  on  the  skull  of 
a  dead  bull  to  be  an  inch  thick  and  covered  with  a 
mat  of  gnarled  hair  in  itself  almost  a  shield  against 
bullets.  Joel  Rae,  with  the  divine  right  of  youth, 
drew  for  them  from  this  circumstance  an  instructive 
parallel. 

So  was  the  head  of  their  own  church  protected 
against  Gentile  shafts  by  the  hide  of  righteousness 
and  the  matted  hair  of  faith. 

The  Indians  killed  buffalo  by  riding  close  and 
striking  them  with  an  arrow  at  the  base  of  the  spine; 
whereupon  the  beast  would  fall  paralysed.,  to  be 
hamstrung  at  leisure.  Only  by  some  such  infernal 
strategy,  the  young  Elder  assured  them,  could  the 
Gentiles  ever  henceforth  cast  them  down. 

For  many  days  their  way  lay  through  these  herds 
of  buffalo  —  herds  so  far-reaching  that  none  could 
count  their  numbers  or  even  see  their  farther  line, 
lost  in  the  distance  over  the  swell  of  the  plains. 
Often  their  way  was  barred  until  a  herd  would 
pass,  making  the  earth  tremble,  and  with  a  noise  like 
muffled  thunder.  They  waited  gladly,  feeling  that 
these  were  obstacles  on  the  way  to  Zion. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         113 

Thus  far  it  had  been  a  land  of  moderate  plenty, 
one  in  which  they  were,  at  least,  not  compelled  to 
look  to  Heaven  for  manna.  Besides  the  buffalo 
which  the  hunters  learned  to  kill,  they  found  deer, 
antelope,  great  flocks  of  geese  and  splendid  bronzed 
wild  turkeys.  Even  the  truculent  grizzly  came  to 
be  numbered  among  their  trophies. 

Day  after  day  marched  the  bearded  host,  —  farm 
ers  with  ploughs,  mechanics  with  tools,  builders, 
craftsmen,  woodsmen,  all  the  needed  factors  of  a 
colony,  led  by  the  greatest  coloniser  of  modern 
times,  their  one  great  aim  being  to  make  ready  some 
spot  in  the  wilderness  for  the  second  advent  of  the 
Messiah.  All  about  them  was  the  prairie,  its  long 
grass  gently  billowed  by  the  spring  breeze.  On  the 
far  right,  blue  in  the  haze,  was  a  continuous  range  of 
lofty  bluffs.  On  the  left  the  waters  of  the  Platte, 
muddied  by  the  spring  freshets,  flowed  over  beds 
of  quicksand  between  groves  of  cottonwood  that 
pleasantly  fringed  its  banks.  The  hard  labour  and 
the  constant  care  demanded  by  the  dangers  that  sur 
rounded  them  prevented  any  from  feeling  the 
monotony  of  the  landscape. 

Besides  the  regular  trials  of  the  march  there  were 
wagons  to  be  "  snaked  "  across  the  streams,  tires  to 
be  reset  and  yokes  to  be  mended  at  each  "  lay-by," 
strayed  stock  to  be  hunted,  and  a  thousand 
contingencies  sufficient  to  drive  from  their  minds 
all  but  the  one  thought  that  they  had  been  thrown 
forth  from  a  Christian  land  for  the  offence  of  wor- 


114         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

shipping  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own 
consciences. 

Joel  Rae,  walking  beside  his  wagon,  meditated 
chiefly  upon  the  manner  in  which  his  Witness  would 
first  manifest  itself.  The  wonder  came,  in  a  way, 
while  he  thus  meditated.  Late  one  afternoon  the 
scouts  thrown  in  advance  came  hurrying  back  to  re 
port  a  large  band  of  Indians  strung  out  in  battle 
array  a  few  miles  ahead.  The  wagons  were  at  once 
formed  five  abreast,  their  one  cannon  was  wheeled 
to  the  front,  and  the  company  advanced  in  close 
formation.  Perceiving  these  aggressive  manoeu 
vres,  the  Indians  seemed  to  change  their  plan  and, 
instead  of  coming  on  to  attack,  were  seen  to  be 
setting  fire  to  the  prairie. 

The  result  might  well  have  been  disastrous,  as  the 
wind  was  blowing  toward  the  train.  Joel  Rae  saw 
it ;  saw  that  the  time  had  come  for  a  miracle  if  the 
little  company  of  Saints  was  to  be  saved  a  serious 
rebuff.  He  quickly  entered  his  wagon  and  began  to 
pray.  He  prayed  that  the  Lord  might  avert  this 
calamity  and  permit  the  handful  of  faithful  ones  to 
proceed  in  peace  to  fashion  His  temple  on  earth. 

When  he  began  to  pray  there  had  been  outside 
a  woful  confusion  of  sounds,  —  scared  and  plunging 
horses,  bellowing  oxen,  excited  men  shouting  to  the 
stock  and  to  one  another,  the  barking  of  dogs  and 
the  rattling  of  the  wagons.  Through  this  din  he 
prayed,  scarcely  hearing  his  own  voice,  yet  feeling 
within  himself  the  faith  that  he  knew  must  prevail. 
And  then  as  he  prayed  he  became  conscious  that 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         115 

these  noises  had  subsided  to  a  wonderful  silence.  A 
moment  this  lasted,  and  then  he  heard  it  broken 
by  a  mighty  shout  of  gladness,  followed  by  excited 
calls  from  one  man  to  another. 

He  looked  out  in  calm  certainty  to  observe  in 
what  manner  the  Lord  had  consented  to  answer  his 
petition.  He  saw  that  the  wind  had  veered  and, 
even  as  he  looked,  large  drops  of  rain  came  pound 
ing  musically  upon  his  wagon-cover.  Far  in  front 
of  them  a  long,  low  line  of  flame  was  crawling  to 
the  west,  while  above  it  lurid  clouds  of  smoke  rolled 
away  from  them.  In  another  moment  the  full  force 
of  the  shower  was  upon  them  from  a  sky  that  half 
an  hour  before  had  been  cloudless.  Far  off  to  the 
right  scurried  the  Indians,  their  feathery  figures 
lying  low  upon  the  backs  of  their  small  ponies.  His 
heart  swelled  within  him,  and  he  fell  again  to  his 
knees  with  many  earnest  words  of  thanksgiving  for 
the  intercession. 

They  at  once  made  camp  for  the  night,  and  by 
Brigham's  fire  later  in  the  evening  Joel  Rae  confided 
the  truth  of  his  miracle  to  that  good  man,  taking 
care  not  to  utter  the  words  with  any  delight  or 
pride  in  himself.  He  considered  that  Brigham  was 
unduly  surprised  by  the  occurrence;  almost  dis 
pleased  in  fact ;  showing  a  tendency  to  attribute  the 
day's  good  fortune  to  phenomena  wholly  natural. 
Although  the  miracle  had  seemed  to  him  a  small, 
simple  thing,  he  now  felt  a  little  ashamed  of  his 
performance.  He  was  pleased  to  note,  however, 
that  Brigham  became  more  gracious  to  him  after 


ii6         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

a  short  period  of  reflection.  He  praised  him  indeed 
for  the  merit  which  he  seemed  to  have  gained  in  the 
Lord's  sight;  taking  occasion  to  remind  him,  how 
ever,  that  he,  Brigham,  had  meant  to  produce  the 
same  effects  by  a  prayer  of  his  own  in  due  time  to 
save  the  train  from  destruction ;  that  he  had  chosen 
to  wait,  however,  in  order  to  try  the  faith  of  the 
Saints. 

"  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Brother  Joel,"  he  concluded, 
"  I  don't  know  as  there  is  any  limit  to  the  power 
with  which  the  Lord  has  blessed  me.  I  tell  you  I 
feel  equal  to  any  miracle  —  even  to  raising  the 
dead,  I  sometimes  think  —  I  feel  that  fired  up  with 
the  Holy  Ghost !  " 

"  I  am  sure  you  will  do  even  that,  Brother  Brig- 
ham."  And  the  young  man's  eyes  swam  with 
mingled  gratitude  and  admiration.  He  resolved 
in  his  wagon  that  night,  that  when  the  time  came 
for  another  miracle,  he  would  not  selfishly  usurp  the 
honour  of  performing  it.  He  would  not  again 
forestall  the  able  Brigham. 

By  the  first  of  June  they  had  wormed  their  way 
over  five  hundred  miles  of  plain  to  the  trading  post 
of  Fort  Laramie.  Here  they  were  at  last  forced 
to  cross  the  Platte  and  to  take  up  their  march  along 
the  Oregon  trail.  They  were  now  in  the  land  of 
alkaline  deserts,  of  sage-brush  and  greasewood,  of 
sad,  bleak,  deadly  stretches ;  a  land  where  the  favour 
of  Heaven  might  have  to  be  called  upon  if  they  were 
to  survive.  Yet  it  was  a  land  not  without  inspira 
tion,  —  a  land  of  immense  distances,  of  long,  dim 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         117 

perspectives,  and  of  dreamy  visions  in  the  far,  vague 
haze.  In  such  a  land,  thought  Joel  Rae,  the  spirit 
of  the  Lord  must  draw  closer  to  the  children  of 
earth.  In  such  a  land  no  miracle  should  be  too 
difficult.  And  so  it  came  that  he  was  presently 
enabled  to  put  in  Brigham's  way  the  opportunity  of 
performing  a  work  of  mercy  which  he  himself  would 
have  been  glad  to  do,  but  for  the  fear  of  affronting 
the  Prophet. 

A  band  of  mounted  Sioux  had  met  them  one  day 
with  friendly  advances  and  stopped  to  trade. 
Among  the  gaudy  warriors  Joel  Rae's  attention  was 
called  to  a  boy  who  had  lost  an  arm.  He  made  in 
quiries,  and  found  him  to  be  the  son  of  the  chief. 
The  chief  himself  made  it  plain  to  Joel  that  the 
young  man  had  lost  his  arm  ten  moons  before  in  a 
combat  with  a  grizzly  bear.  Whereupon  the  young 
Elder  cordially  bade  the  chief  bring  his  crippled  son 
to  their  own  great  chief,  who  would,  by  the  gracious 
power  of  God,  miraculously  restore  the  missing 
member. 

A  few  moments  later  the  three  were  before 
Brigham,  who  was  standing  by  his  wagon ;  Joel  Rae, 
glowing  with  a  glad  and  confident  serenity;  the 
tawny  chief  with  his  sable  braids  falling  each  side 
of  his  painted  face,  gay  in  his  head-dress  of  dyed 
eagle  plumes,  his  buckskin  shirt  jewelled  with  blue 
beads  and  elk's  teeth,  warlike  with  his  bow  and 
steel-pointed  arrows ;  and  the  young  man,  but  little 
less  ornate  than  his  splendid  father,  stoical,  yet 


n8         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

scarce  able  to  subdue  the  flash  of  hope  in  his  eyes 
as  he  looked  up  to  the  great  white  chief. 

Brigham  looked  at  them  questioningly.  Joel 
announced  their  errand. 

"  It's  a  rare  opportunity,  Brother  Brigham,  to 
bring  light  to  these  wretched  Lamanites.  This  boy 
had  his  arm  torn  off  a  year  ago  in  a  fight  with  a 
grizzly.  You  know  you  told  me  that  day  I  brought 
the  rain-storm  that  you  could  well-nigh  raise  the 
dead,  so  this  will  be  easy  for  you." 

Brigham  still  looked  puzzled,  so  the  young  man 
added  with  a  flash  of  enthusiasm :  "  Restore  this 
poor  creature's  arm  and  the  noise  of  the  miracle 
will  go  all  through  these  tribes ;  "  he  paused  ex 
pectantly. 

It  is  the  mark  of  true  greatness  that  it  may  never 
be  found  unprepared.  Now  and  again  it  may  be 
made  to  temporise  for  a  moment,  cunningly  adopt 
ing  one  expedient  or  another  to  hide  its  unreadiness 

—  but  never  more  than  briefly. 

Brigham  had  looked  slowly  from  the  speaker  to 
the  Indians  and  slowly  back  again.  Then  he  sur 
veyed  several  bystanders  who  had  been  attracted  to 
the  group,  and  his  eyelids  were  seen  to  work  rapidly, 
as  if  in  sympathetic  pace  with  his  thoughts.  Then 
all  at  once  he  faced  Joel. 

"  Brother  Rae,  have  you  reflected  about  this?  " 
"  Why  —  Brother  Brigham  —  no  —  not  reflected 

—  perhaps  if  we  both  prayed  with  hearts  full  of 
faith,  the  Lord  might  —  " 

"Brother  Rae!" 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         119 

There  was  sternness  in  the  voice  now,  and  the 
young  man  trembled  before  the  Lion  of  the  Lord. 

"  You  mistake  me.  I  guess  I'm  a  good  enough 
servant  of  the  Lord,  so  my  own  prayer  would  restore 
this  arm  without  any  of  your  help;  yes,  I  guess  the 
Lord  and  me  could  do  it  without  you  —  if  we 
thought  it  was  best.  Now  pay  attention.  Do  you 
believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body  ?  " 

"  I  do,  Brother 'Brigham,  and  of  course  I  didn't 
mean  to  "  —  he  was  blushing  now. 

"  Do  you  believe  the  day  of  judgment  is  at 
hand?" 

"  I  do." 

"How  near?" 

"  You  and  our  priests  and  Elders  say  it  will  come 
in  1870." 

"  Correct!    How  many  years  is  that  from  now?  " 

"  Twenty-three,  Brother  Brigham." 

"  Yes,  twenty-three.  Now  then,  how  many  years 
are  there  to  be  after  that?  " 

"  How  many  —  surely  an  eternity !  " 

"  More  than  twenty-three  years,  then  —  much 
more?" 

"  Eternity  means  endless  time." 

"Oh,  it  does,  does  it?" 

There  had  been  gradually  sounding  in  his  voice  a 
ring  of  triumph  which  now  became  distinct. 

"  Well,  then,  answer  me  this  —  and  remember  it 
shall  be  as  you  say  to  the  best  of  my  influence  with 
the  Lord  —  you  shall  be  responsible  for  this  poor 
remnant  of  the  seed  of  Cain.  Now,  don't  be  rash !  Is 


120         THE   LIONS   OF    THE  LORD 

it  better  for  this  poor  creature  to  continue  with  his 
one  arm  here  for  the  twenty-three  years  the  world 
is  to  endure,  and  then  pass  on  to  eternity  where  he 
will  have  his  two  arms  forever;  or,  do  you  want 
me  to  renew  his  arm  now  and  let  him  go  through 
eternity  a  freak,  a  monstrosity  ?  Do  you  want  him 
to  suffer  a  little  inconvenience  these  few  days  he  has 
here,  or  do  you  want  him  to  go  through  an  endless 
hereafter  with  three  arms?  " 

The  young  man  gazed  at  him  blankly  with  a 
dropped  jaw. 

"Come,  what  do  you  say?  I'm  full  of  faith. 
Shall  I  —  " 

"  No  —  no,  Brother  Brigham ;  don't  —  for  God's 
sake,  don't !  Of  course  he  would  be  resurrected  with 
three  arms.  You  think  of  everything,  Brother  Brig- 
ham!" 

The  Indians  had  meanwhile  been  growing  puzzled 
and  impatient.  He  now  motioned  them  to  follow 
him. 

By  dint  of  many  crude  efforts  in  the  sign  language 
and  an  earnest  use  of  the  few  words  known  to  both, 
he  succeeded,  after  a  long  time,  in  putting  the  facts 
before  the  chief  and  his  son.  They,  after  an  animated 
conversation,  succeeded  with  much  use  of  the  sign 
language  in  conveying  to  Joel  Rae  the  information 
that  the  young  man  was  not  at  all  dismayed  by  the 
prospect  of  having  three  arms  during  the  next  life. 
He  gathered,  indeed,  that  both  father  and  son  would 
be  rather  elated  than  otherwise  by  this  circumstance, 
seeming  to  suspect  that  the  extra  member  must  con- 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         121 

fer  superior  prowess  and  high  distinction  upon  its 
possessor. 

But  he  shook  his  head  with  much  determination, 
and  refused  to  take  them  again  before  the  great  white 
chief.  The  thought  troubled  him  exceedingly  and 
would  not  be  gone  —  yet  he  knew  not  how  to  ac 
count  for  it  —  that  Brigham  would  not  receive  this 
novel  view  of  the  matter  with  any  cordiality. 

When  they  were  camped  that  night,  Brigham 
made  a  suggestion  to  him. 

"  Brother  Rae,  it  ain't  just  the  best  plan  in  the 
world  to  come  on  a  man  sudden  that  way  for  so 
downright  a  miracle.  A  man  can't  be  always  fired 
up  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  with  all  the  cares  of  this 
train  on  his  mind.  You  come  and  have  a  private 
talk  with  me  beforehand  after  this,  when  you  got  a 
miracle  you  want  done." 

He  prayed  more  fervently  than  ever  that  night  to 
be  made  "  wise  and  good  like  thy  servant  Brigham  " 
—  also  for  the  gift  of  tongues  to  come  upon  him  so 
that  he  might  instruct  the  Indians  in  the  threefold 
character  of  the  Godhead  and  in  other  matters  per 
taining  to  their  salvation. 


CHAPTER   X. 

The  Promised  Land 

SO  far  on  their  march  the  Lord  had  protected 
them  from  all  but  ordinary  hardships.  True, 
some  members  of  the  company  had  suffered 
from  a  fever  which  they  attributed  to  the  clouds  of 
dust  that  enveloped  the  column  of  wagons  when  in 
motion,  and  to  the  great  change  of  temperature  from 
day  to  night.  Again,  the  most  of  them  were  for  many 
weeks  without  bread,  saving  for  the  sick  the  little 
flour  they  had  and  subsisting  upon  the  meat  pro 
vided  by  the  hunters.  Before  reaching  Fort  Lara- 
mie,  too,  their  stock  had  become  weakened  for  want 
of  food;  an  extended  drought,  the  vast  herds  of 
buffalo,  and  the  Indian  fires  having  combined  to 
destroy  the  pasturage. 

This  weakness  of  the  animals  made  the  march 
for  many  days  not  more  than  five  or  six  miles  a 
day.  At  the  last  they  had  fed  to  the  stock  not 
only  all  their  grain  but  the  most  of  their  crackers 
and  other  breadstuffs.  But  these  were  slight  matters 
to  a  persecuted  people  gathering  out  of  Babylon. 

Late  in  June  they  reached  the  South  Pass.  For 
122 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         123 

many  hundred  miles  they  had  been  climbing  the 
backbone  of  the  continent.  Now  they  had  reached 
the  summit,  the  dividing  ridge  between  streams  that 
flowed  to  the  Atlantic  and  streams  that  flowed  to 
the  Pacific.  From  the  level  prairies  they  had  toiled 
up  into  the  fearsome  Rockies  where  bleak,  grim 
crags  lowered  upon  them  from  afar,  and  distant 
summits  glistening  with  snow  warned  them  of  the 
perils  ahead. 

Through  all  this  time  of  marching  the  place  where 
they  should  pitch  the  tent  of  Israel  was  not  fixed 
upon.  When  Brigham  was  questioned  around  the 
camp-fire  at  night,  his  only  reply  was  that  he  would 
know  the  site  of  their  new  home  when  he  saw  it. 
And  it  came  to  be  told  among  the  men  that  he 
had  beheld  in  vision  a  tent  settling  down  from 
heaven  and  resting  over  a  certain  spot;  and  that 
a  voice  had  said  to  him,  "  Here  is  the  place  where 
my  people  Israel  shall  pitch  their  tents  and  spread 
wide  the  curtains  of  Zion !  "  It  was  enough.  He 
would  recognise  the  spot  when  they  reached  it. 

From  the  trappers,  scouts,  and  guides  encountered 
along  the  road  they  had  received  much  advice  as 
to  eligible  locations;  and  while  this  was  various 
as  to  sites  recommended,  the  opinion  had  been 
unanimous  that  the  Salt  Lake  Valley  was  impossi 
ble.  It  was,  they  were  told,  sandy,  barren,  rainless, 
destitute  of  timber  and  vegetation,  infested  with 
hordes  of  hungry  crickets,  and  roamed  over  by 
bands  of  the  most  savage  Indians.  In  short,  no 
colony  could  endure  there. 


124         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

One  by  one  the  trappers  they  met  voiced  this 
opinion.  There  was  Bordeaux,  the  grizzled  old 
Frenchman,  clad  in  ragged  buckskin;  Moses 
Harris;  "  Pegleg  "  Smith,  whose  habit  of  profanity 
was  shocking ;  Miles  Goodyear,  fresh  from  captivity 
among  the  Blackfeet;  and  James  Bridger.  The 
latter  had  discovered  Great  Salt  Lake  twenty-five 
years  before,  and  was  especially  vehement  in  his 
condemnation  of  the  valley.  They  had  halted  a  day 
at  his  "  fort,"  two  adjoining  log  houses  with  dirt 
roofs,  surrounded  by  a  high  stockade  of  logs,  and 
built  on  one  of  several  small  islands  formed  by 
the  branches  of  Black's  Fork.  Here  they  had  found 
the  old  trapper  amid  a  score  of  nondescript  human 
beings,  white  men,  Indian  women,  and  half-breed 
children. 

Bridger  had  told  them  very  concisely  that  he 
would  pay  them  a  thousand  dollars  for  the  first  ear 
of  corn  raised  in  Salt  Lake  Valley.  It  is  true  that 
Bridger  seemed  to  have  become  pessimistic  in  many 
matters.  For  one,  the  West  was  becoming  over 
crowded  and  the  price  of  furs  was  falling  at  a  rate 
to  alarm  the  most  conservative  trapper.  He  re 
ferred  feelingly  to  the  good  old  days  when  one 
got  ten  dollars  a  pound  for  prime  beaver  skins  in 
St.  Louis ;  but  "  now  it's  a  skin  for  a  plug  of 
tobacco,  and  three  for  a  cup  of  powder,  and  other 
fancies  in  the  same  proportion."  And  so.  had 
his  testimony  been  unsupported,  they  might  have 
suspected  he  was  underestimating  the  advantages 
of  the  Salt  Lake  Valley.  But,  corroborated  as  he 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         125 

had  been  by  his  brother  trappers,  they  began  to 
descend  the  western  slope  of  the  Rockies  strong 
in  the  opinion  that  this  same  Salt  Lake  Valley  was 
the  land  that  had  been  chosen  for  them  by  the 
Lord. 

They  dared  not,  indeed,  go  to  a  fertile  land,  for 
there  the  Gentiles  would  be  tempted  to  follow  them 
—  with  the  old  bloody  end.  Only  in  a  desert  such 
as  these  men  had  described  the  Salt  Lake  Valley 
to  be  could  they  hope  for  peace.  From  Fort 
Bridger,  then,  their  route  bent  to  the  southwest 
along  the  rocky  spurs  of  the  Uintah  Mountains, 
whose  snow-clad  tops  gleamed  a  bluish  white  in 
the  July  sun. 

By  the  middle  of  July  the  vanguard  of  the  com 
pany  began  the  descent  of  Echo  Canon,  —  a  narrow 
slit  cut  straight  down  a  thousand  feet  into  the  red 
sandstone,  —  the  pass  which  a  handful  of  them 
was  to  hold  a  few  years  later  against  a  whole  army 
of  the  hated  Gentiles. 

The  hardest  part  of  their  journey  was  still  before 
them.  Their  road  had  now  to  be  made  as  they 
went,  lying  wholly  among  the  mountains.  Lofty 
hills,  deep  ravines  with  jagged  sides,  forbidding 
canons,  all  but  impassable  streams,  rock-bound  and 
brush-choked,  —  up  and  down,  through  or  over 
all  these  obstacles  they  had  now  to  force  a  passage, 
cutting  here,  digging  there;  now  double-locking 
the  wheels  of  their  wagons  to  prevent  their  crash 
ing  down  some  steep  incline;  now  putting  five 


126         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

teams  to  one  load  to  haul  it  up  the  rock-strewn 
side  of  some  water-way. 

From  Echo  Canon  they  went  down  the  Weber, 
then  toward  East  Canon,  a  dozen  of  the  bearded 
host  going  forward  with  spades  and  axes  as  sap 
pers.  Sometimes  they  made  a  mile  in  five  hours; 
sometimes  they  were  less  lucky.  But  at  length 
they  were  fighting  their  way  up  the  choked  East 
Canon,  starting  fierce  gray  wolves  from  their  lairs 
in  the  rocks  and  hearing  at  every  rod  of  their  hard- 
fought  way  the  swift  and  unnerving  song  of  the 
coiled  rattlesnake. 

Eight  fearful  miles  they  toiled  through  this  gash 
in  the  mountain ;  then  over  another  summit,  — 
Big  Mountain;  down  this  dangerous  slide,  all 
wheels  double-locked,  on  to  the  summit  of  another 
lofty  hill,  —  Little  Mountain ;  and  abruptly  down 
again  into  the  rocky  gorge  afterwards  to  become 
historic  as  Immigration  Canon. 

Following  down  this  gorge,  never  doubting  they 
should  come  at  last  to  their  haven,  they  found  its 
mouth  to  be  impassable.  Rocks,  brush,  and  timber 
choked  the  way.  Crossing  to  the  south  side,  they 
went  sheerly  up  the  steep  hill  —  so  steep  that  it 
was  all  but  impossible  for  the  straining  animals 
to  drag  up  the  heavy  wagons,  and  so  narrow  that 
a  false  step  might  have  dashed  wagon  and  team 
half  a  thousand  feet  on  to  the  rocks  below. 

But  at  last  they  stood  on  the  summit,  —  and 
broke  into  shouts  of  rapture  as  they  looked.  For 
the  wilderness  home  of  Israel  had  been  found.  Far 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         127 

and  wide  below  them  stretched  their  promised  land, 
—  a  broad,  open  valley  hemmed  in  by  high  moun 
tains  that  lay  cold  and  far  and  still  in  the  blue  haze. 
Some  of  these  had  slept  since  the  world  began 
under  their  canopies  of  snow,  and  these  flashed 
a  sunlit  glory  into  the  eager  eyes  of  the  pilgrims. 
Others  reared  bare,  scathed  peaks  above  slopes  that 
were  shaggy  with  timber.  And  out  in  front  lay 
the  wondrous  lake,  —  a  shield  of  deepest  glittering 
turquois  held  to  the  dull,  gray  breast  of  the  valley. 

Again  and  again  they  cried  out,  "  Hosanna  to 
God  and  the  Lamb !  "  and  many  of  the  bearded 
host  shed  tears,  for  the  hardships  of  the  way  had 
weakened  them. 

Then  Brigham  came,  lying  pale  and  wasted  in 
his  wagon,  and  when  they  saw  him  gaze  long,  and 
heard  him  finally  say,  "  Enough  —  drive  on !  " 
they  knew  that  on  this  morning  of  July  24,  1847, 
they  had  found  the  spot  where  in  vision  he  had 
seen  the  tent  of  the  Lord  come  down  to  earth. 

Joel  Rae  had  waited  with  a  beating  heart  for 
Brigham's  word  of  confirmation,  and  when  he  heard 
it  his  soul  was  filled  to  overflowing.  He  knew 
that  here  the  open  vision  would  enfold  him;  here 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  would  come  to  him  fetching 
his  great  Witness.  Here  he  would  rise  to  immeas 
urable  zeniths  of  spirituality.  And  here  his  people 
would  become  a  mighty  people  of  the  Lord.  He 
foresaw  the  hundred  unwalled  cities  that  Brigham 
was  to  found,  and  the  green  gardens  that  were  to 
make  the  now  desert  valley  a  fit  setting  for  the 


128         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

temple  of  God.  Here  was  a  stricken  Rachel,  a 
barren  Sarah  to  be  transformed  by  the  touch  of 
the  Saints  to  a  mother  of  many  children.  Here 
would  the  lambs  of  the  Lord  be  safe  at  last  from 
the  Gentile  wolves  —  safe  for  a  time  at  least,  until 
so  long  as  it  might  take  the  Lions  of  the  Lord  to 
come  to  their  growth.  And  that  was  to  be  no  in 
definite  period;  for  had  not  Brigham  just  said, 
with  a  snap  of  his  great  jaws  and  a  cold  flash  of 
his  blue  eyes,  "  Let  us  alone  ten  years  here,  and  we'll 
ask  no  odds  of  Uncle  Sam  or  the  Devil !  " 

There  on  the  summit  they  knelt  to  entreat  the 
mercy  of  God  upon  the  land.  The  next  day,  by 
their  leader's  direction,  they  consecrated  the  valley 
to  the  Lord,  and  planted  six  acres  of  potatoes. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

Another  Miracle  and  a  Temptation  in  the 
Wilderness 

THE  floor  of  the  valley  was  an  arid  waste,  flat 
and  treeless,  a  far  sweep  of  gray  and  gold, 
of  sage-brush  spangled  with  sunflowers, 
patched  here  and  there  with  glistening  beds  of  salt 
and  soda,  or  pools  of  the  deadly  alkali.  Here 
crawled  the  lizard  and  the  rattlesnake;  and  there 
was  no  music  to  the  desolation  save  the  petulant 
chirp  of  the  cricket.  At  the  sides  an  occasional 
stream  tumbled  out  of  the  mountains  to  be  all  but 
drunk  away  at  once  by  the  thirsty  sands.  Along 
the  banks  of  these  was  the  only  green  to  be  found, 
sparse  fringes  of  willow  and  wild  rose.  On  the 
borders  of  the  valley,  where  the  steeps  arose,  were 
little  patches  of  purple  and  dusty  brown,  oak-bush, 
squaw-berry,  a  few  dwarfed  cedars,  and  other  scant 
growths.  At  long  intervals  could  be  found  a  marsh 
of  wire-grass,  or  a  few  acres  of  withered  bunch- 
grass.  But  these  served  only  to  emphasise  the 
prevailing  desert  tones. 

The  sun-baked  earth  was  so  hard  that  it  broke 
129 


130         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

their  ploughs  when  they  tried  to  turn  it.  Not  until 
they  had  spread  water  upon  it  from  the  river  they 
had  named  Jordan  could  the  ploughs  be  used. 
Such  was  the  new  Canaan,  the  land  held  in  reserve 
by  the  Lord  for  His  chosen  people  since  the  foun 
dations  of  the  world  were  laid. 

Dreary  though  it  was,  they  were  elated.  Had 
not  a  Moses  led  them  out  of  bondage  up  into  this 
chamber  of  the  mountains  against  the  day  of  wrath 
that  was  to  consume  the  Gentile  world  ?  And  would 
he  not  smite  the  rocks  for  water?  Would  he  not 
also  be  a  Joshua  to  sit  in  judgment  and  divide  to 
Israel  his  inheritance? 

They  waited  not  nor  demurred,  but  fell  to  work. 
Within  a  week  they  had  explored  the  valley  and 
its  canons,  made  a  road  to  the  timber  eight  miles 
away,  built  a  saw-pit,  sawed  lumber  for  a  skiff, 
ploughed,  planted,  and  irrigated  half  a  hundred 
acres  of  the  parched  soil,  and  begun  the  erection 
of  many  dwellings,  some  of  logs,  some  of  adobes. 
Ground  had  also  been  chosen  and  consecrated  by 
Brigham,  whereon,  in  due  time,  they  would  build 
up  their  temple  to  the  God  of  Jacob. 

Meantime,  they  would  continue  to  gather  out 
of  Babylon.  During  the  late  summer  and  fall  many 
wagons  arrived  from  the  Missouri,  so  that  by  the 
beginning  of  winter  their  number  was  nearly  two 
thousand.  They  lived  rudely,  a  lucky  few  in  the 
huts  they  had  built;  more  in  tents  and  wagon- 
boxes.  Nor  did  they  fail  to  thank  Providence  for 
the  mild  winter  vouchsafed  to  them  during  this 


THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD         131 

unprotected  period,  permitting  them  not  only  to 
survive,  but  to  continue  their  labours  —  of  log 
ging,  home-building,  the  making  of  rough  fur 
niture,  and  the  repairing  of  wagons  and  tools. 

When  the  early  spring  came  they  were  again 
quickly  at  the  land  with  their  seeds.  Over  five 
thousand  acres  were  sown  to  needful  produce. 
When  this  began  to  sprout  with  every  promise  of 
a  full  harvest,  their  joy  was  boundless;  for  their 
stock  of  breadstuff's  and  provisions  had  fallen  low 
during  the  winter,  and  could  not  last  later  than 
harvest-time,  even  with  rigid  economy. 

But  early  in  June,  in  the  full  flush  of  this  spring 
tide  of  promise,  it  appeared  that  the  Lord  was 
minded  to  chasten  them.  For  into  their  broad, 
green  fields  came  the  ravenous  crickets  in  wide, 
black  streams  down  the  mountain  sides.  Over  the 
growing  grain  they  spread  as  a  pall,  and  the  tender 
sprouts  were  consumed  to  the  ground.  In  their 
track  they  left  no  stalk  nor  growing  blade. 

Starvation  now  faced  the  Saints.  In  their  panic 
they  sought  to  fight  the  all-devouring  pest.  While 
some  went  wildly  through  the  fields  killing  the 
crickets,  others  ran  trenches  and  tried  to  drown 
them.  Still  others  beat  them  back  with  sticks  and 
brooms,  or  burned  them  by  fires  set  in  the  fields. 
But  against  the  oncoming  horde  these  efforts  were 
unavailing.  Where  hundreds  were  destroyed  hun 
dreds  of  thousands  appeared. 

Despair  seized  the  Saints,  the  bitter  despair  of 
a  cheated,  famished  people  —  deluded  even  by  their 


1 32         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

God.  In  their  shorn  fields  they  wept  and  cursed, 
knowing  at  last  they  could  not  stay  the  pest. 

Then  into  the  fields  came  Joel  Rae,  rebuking 
the  frenzied  men  and  women.  The  light  of  a  high 
faith  was  upon  him  as  he  called  out  to  them: 

"  Have  I  not  preached  to  you  all  winter  the  way 
to  salvation  in  times  like  this  ?  Does  faith  mean  one 
thing  in  my  mouth  and  another  thing  here?  Why 
waste  yourselves  with  those  foolish  tricks  of  fire 
and  water?  They  only  make  you  forget  Jehovah 

—  you   fools  —  you   poor,   blind   fools  —  to  palter 
so!" 

He  raised  his  voice,  and  the  wondering  group 
about  him  grew  large. 

"  Down,  down  on  your  knees  and  pray  —  pray 

—  pray !     I  tell  you  the  Lord  shall  not  suffer  you 
to  perish !  " 

Then,  as  but  one  or  two  obeyed  him  — 

"  So  your  hearts  have  been  hardened?  Then 
my  own  prayer  shall  save  you !  " 

Down  he  knelt  in  the  midst  of  the  group,  while 
they  instinctively  drew  back  from  him  on  all  sides. 
But  as  his  voice  rose,  a  voice  that  had  never  failed 
to  move  them,  they,  too,  began  to  kneel,  at  first 
those  near  him,  then  others  back  of  them,  until  a 
hundred  knelt  about  him. 

He  had  not  observed  them,  but  with  eyes  closed 
he  prayed  on,  pouring  out  his  heart  in  penitent 
supplication. 

"  These  people  are  but  little  children,  after  all, 
seeing  not,  groping  blindly,  attempting  weakly, 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         133 

blundering  always,  yet  never  faltering  in  love  for 
Thee.  Now  I,  Thy  servant,  humble  and  lowly,  from 
whom  Thou  hast  already  taken  in  hardest  ways  all 
that  his  heart  held  dear,  who  will  to-day  give  his 
body  to  be  crucified,  if  need  be,  for  this  people  —  I 
implore  Thee  to  save  these  blundering  children  now, 
in  this  very  moment.  I  ask  nothing  for  myself  but 
that—" 

As  his  words  rang  out,  there  had  been  quick,  low, 
startled  murmurs  from  the  kneeling  group  about 
him;  and  now  loud  shouts  interrupted  his  prayer. 
He  opened  his  eyes.  From  off  toward  the  lake 
great  flocks  of  gulls  had  appeared,  whitening  the 
sky,  and  now  dulling  all  other  sounds  with  the 
beating  of  their  wings  and  their  high,  plaintive 
cries.  Quickly  they  settled  upon  the  fields  in  swirl 
ing  drifts,  so  that  the  land  all  about  lay  white  as 
with  snow. 

A  groan  went  up,  —  "  They  will  finish  what  the 
crickets  have  left." 

He  had  risen  to  his  feet,  looking  intently.  Then 
he  gave  an  exultant  shout. 

"No!  No!  —  they  are  eating  only  the  crickets! 
—  the  white  birds  are  devouring  the  black  pests; 
the  hosts  of  heaven  and  hell  have  met,  and  the 
powers  of  light  have  triumphed  once  more  over 
darkness!  Pray  —  pray  now  with  all  your  hearts 
in  thanksgiving  for  this  mercy !  " 

And  again  they  knelt,  many  with  streaming  eyes, 
while  he  led  them  in  a  prayer  of  gratitude  for  this 
wondrous  miracle. 


134         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

All  day  long  the  white  birds  fed  upon  the  crickets, 
and  when  they  left  at  night  the  harvest  had  been 
saved.  Thus  had  Heaven  vouchsafed  a  second  mir 
acle  to  the  Lute  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  small 
wonder  then  if  his  views  of  the  esteem  in  which 
he  was  held  by  that  power  were  now  greatly  en 
larged. 

In  August,  thanks  to  the  Heaven-sent  gulls,  they 
were  able  to  celebrate  with  a  feast  their  first  "  Har 
vest  Home."  In  the  centre  of  the  big  stockade  a 
bowery  was  built,  and  under  its  shade  tables  were 
spread  and  richly  laden  with  the  first  fruits  their 
labours  had  won  from  the  desert,  —  white  bread 
and  golden  butter,  green  corn,  watermelons,  and 
many  varieties  of  vegetables.  Hoisted  on  poles  for 
exhibition  were  immense  sheaves  of  wheat,  rye, 
barley,  and  oats,  coaxed  from  the  arid  level  with 
the  water  they  had  cunningly  spread  upon  it. 

There  were  prayers  and  public  thanksgiving, 
songs  and  speeches  and  dancing.  It  was  the  flush 
of  their  first  triumph  over  the  desert.  Until  night 
fall  the  festival  lasted,  and  at  its  close  Elder  Rae 
stood  up  to  address  them  on  the  subject  of  their 
past  trials  and  present  blessings.  The  silence  was 
instant,  and  the  faces  were  all  turned  eagerly  upon 
him,  for  it  was  beginning  to  be  suspected  that  he 
had  more  than  even  priestly  power. 

"  To-day,"  he  said,  "  the  favour  and  blessing  of 
God  have  been  manifest  upon  us.  But  let  us  not 
forget  our  debts  and  duties  in  this  feasting  of  the 
flesh.  Afflictions  are  necessary  to  humble  and  prove 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         135 

us,  and  we  shall  have  them  as  often  as  they  are 
needed.  Oh,  never  doubt  it!  I  have,  indeed,  but 
one  fear  concerning  this  people  in  the  valleys  of  the 
mountains  —  but  one  trembling  fear  in  the  nerves 
of  my  spirit  —  and  that  is  lest  we  do  not  live  the 
religion  we  profess.  If  we  will  only  cleave  to  that 
faith  in  our  practise,  I  tell  you  we  are  at  the  de 
fiance  of  all  hell.  But  if  we  transgress  the  law 
God  has  given  us,  and  trample  His  mercies,  bless 
ings,  and  ordinances  under  our  feet,  treating  them 
with  the  indifference  I  have  thought  some  occasion 
ally  do,  not  realising  their  sins,  I  tell  you  that  in 
consequence  we  shall  be  overcome,  and  the  Lord 
will  let  us  be  again  smitten  and  scattered.  Take 
it  to  heart.  May  the  God  of  heaven  fill  you  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  give  you  light  and  joy  in  His 
Kingdom." 

When  he  was  done  many  pressed  forward  to  take 
his  hand,  the  young  and  the  old,  for  they  had  both 
learned  to  reverence  him. 

Near  the  outer  edge  of  the  throng  was  a  red- 
lipped  Juno,  superbly  rounded,  who  had  gleaned 
in  the  fields  until  she  was  all  a  Gipsy  brown,  and  her 
movements  of  a  Gipsy  grace  in  their  freeness.  She 
did  not  greet  the  young  Elder  as  did  the  others,  seem 
ing,  indeed,  to  be  unconscious  of  his  presence.  Yet 
she  lingered  near  as  they  scattered  off  into  the  dusk, 
in  little  groups  or  one  by  one;  and  still  she  stood 
there  when  all  were  gone,  now  venturing  just  a 
glance  at  him  from  deep  gray  eyes  set  under  black 
brows,  turning  her  splendid  head  a  little  to  bring 


136         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

him  into  view.  He  saw  the  figure  and  came  for 
ward,  peeringly. 

"  Mara  Cavan  —  yes,  yes,  so  it  is!"  He  took 
her  hand,  somewhat  timidly,  an  observer  would  have 
said.  "  Your  father  is  not  able  to  be  out?  I  shall 
walk  down  with  you  to  see  him  —  if  you're  ready 
now." 

She  had  been  standing  much  like  a  statue,  in 
guarded  restraint,  but  at  his  words  and  the  touch 
of  his  hand  she  seemed  to  melt  and  flow  into  eager 
acquiescence,  murmuring  some  hurried  little  words 
of  thanks  for  her  father,  and  stepping  by  his  side 
with  eyes  down. 

They  went  out  into  the  soft  summer  night,  past 
the  open  doors  where  rejoicing  groups  still  lingered, 
the  young  standing,  the  old  sitting  in  chairs  by  the 
doors  of  their  huts.  Then  they  were  out  of  the 
stockade  and  off  toward  the  southern  end  of  the 
settlement.  A  big,  golden  moon  had  come  up  over 
the  jagged  edge  of  the  eastern  hills,  —  a  moon  that 
left  the  valley  in  a  mystic  sheen  of  gold  and  blue, 
and  threw  their  shadows  madly  into  one  as  they 
walked.  They  heard  the  drowsy  chirp  of  the 
cricket,  now  harmless,  and  the  low  cry  of  an  owl. 
They  felt  the  languorous  warmth  of  the  night,  spiced 
with  a  hint  of  chilliness,  and  they  felt  each  other 
near.  They  had  felt  this  nearness  before.  One  of 
them  had  learned  to  fear  it,  to  tremble  for  himself 
at  the  thought  of  it.  The  other  had  learned  to 
dream  of  it,  and  to  long  for  it,  and  to  wonder  why 
it  should  be  denied. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         137 

Now,  as  they  stepped  side  by  side,  their  hands 
brushed  together,  and  he  caught  hers  in  his  grasp, 
turning  to  look  full  upon  her.  Her  ecstasy  was 
poignant ;  she  trembled  in  her  walk.  But  she  looked 
straight  ahead,  —  waiting.  To  both  of  them  it 
seemed  that  the  earth  rocked  under  their  feet.  He 
looked  long  at  her  profile,  softened  in  the  magic 
light.  She  felt  his  eyes  upon  her,  and  still  she 
waited,  in  a  trembling  ecstasy,  stepping  closely  by 
his  side.  She  felt  him  draw  a  long  breath,  and  then 
another,  quickly,  —  and  then  he  spoke. 

In  words  that  were  well-chosen  but  somewhat 
hurried,  he  proceeded  to  instruct  her  in  the  three 
fold  character  of  the  Godhead.  The  voice  at  first 
was  not  like  his  own,  but  as  he  went  on  it  grew 
steadier.  After  she  drew  her  hand  gently  out  of 
his,  which  she  presently  did,  it  seemed  to  regain  its 
normal  pitch  and  calmness. 

He  saw  her  to  the  door  of  the  cabin  on  the  out 
skirts  of  the  settlement,  and  there  he  spoke  a  few 
words  of  cheer  to  her  ailing  father. 

Then  he  was  off  into  the  desert,  pacing  swiftly 
into  the  grim,  sandy  solitude  beyond  the  farthest 
cabin  light  and  the  bark  of  the  outmost  watch-dog. 
Feverishly  he  walked,  and  far,  until  at  last,  as  if 
naught  in  himself  could  avail,  he  threw  himself  to 
the  ground  and  prayed. 

"  Keep  me  good!  Keep  me  to  my  vows!  Help 
me  till  my  own  strength  grows,  for  I  am  weak  and 
wanting.  Let  me  endure  the  pain  until  this  wicked 


138         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

fire  within  me  hath  burned  itself  out.  Keep  me  for 
her! " 

Back  where  the  houses  were,  in  the  shadow  of 
one  of  them,  was  the  flushed,  full-breathing  woman, 
hurt  but  dumb,  wondering,  in  her  bruised  tender 
ness,  why  it  must  be  so. 

Still  farther  back,  inside  the  stockade,  where  the 
gossiping  groups  yet  lingered,  they  were  saying 
it  was  strange  that  Elder  Rae  waited  so  long  to 
take  him  a  wife  or  two. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

A  Fight  for  Life 

THE  stream  of  Saints  to  the  Great  Basin  had 
become  well-nigh  continuous  —  Saints  of  all 
degrees  of  prosperity,  from  Parley  Pratt,  the 
Archer  of  Paradise,  with  his  wealth  of  wives, 
wagons,  and  cattle,  to  Barney  Bigler,  unblessed  with 
wives  or  herds,  who  put  his  earthly  goods  on  a 
wheelbarrow,  and,  to  the  everlasting  glory  of  God, 
trundled  it  from  the  Missouri  River  to  the  valley  of 
the  Great  Salt  Lake.  Train  after  train  set  out  for 
the  new  Zion  with  faith  that  God  would  drop  manna 
before  them. 

Each  train  was  a  little  migrating  State  in  itself. 
And  never  was  the  natural  readiness  of  the  American 
pioneer  more  luminously  displayed.  At  every  halt 
of  the  wagons  a  shoemaker  would  be  seen  searching 
for  a  lapstone;  a  gunsmith  would  be  mending  a 
rifle,  and  weavers  would  be  at  their  wheels  or  looms. 
The  women  early  discovered  that  the  jolting  wagons 
would  churn  their  cream  to  butter;  and  for  bread, 
very  soon  after  the  halt  was  made,  the  oven  hollowed 
out  of  the  hillside  was  heated,  and  the  dough,  al- 

139 


140         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

ready  raised,  was  in  to  bake.  One  mother  in  Israel 
brought  proudly  to  the  Lake  a  piece  of  cloth,  the 
wool  for  which  she  had  sheared,  dyed,  spun,  and 
woven  during  her  march, 

Nor  did  the  marches  ever  cease  to  be  fraught 
with  peril  and  hardship.  There  were  tempests, 
droughts,  famines,  stampedes  of  the  stock,  prairie 
fires,  and  Indian  forays.  Hundreds  of  miles  across 
the  plain  and  through  the  mountains  the  Indians 
would  trail  after  them,  like  sharks  in  the  wake  of  a 
ship,  tirelessly  watching,  waiting  for  the  right 
moment  to  stampede  the  stock,  to  fire  the  prairie, 
or  to  descend  upon  stragglers. 

One  by  one  the  trains  worked  down  into  the 
valley,  the  tired  Saints  making  fresh  their  covenants 
by  rebaptism  as  they  came.  In  the  waters  of  the 
River  Jordan,  Joel  Rae  made  hundreds  to  be  renewed 
in  the  Kingdom,  swearing  them  to  obey  Brigham, 
the  Lord's  anointed,  in  all  his  orders,  spiritual  or 
temporal,  and  the  priesthood  or  either  of  them,  and 
all  church  authorities  in  like  manner;  to  regard 
this  obligation  as  superior  to  all  laws  of  the  United 
States  and  all  earthly  laws  whatsoever;  to  cherish 
enmity  against  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
that  the  blood  of  Joseph  Smith  and  the  Apostles  slain 
in  that  generation  might  be  avenged;  and  to  keep 
the  matter  of  this  oath  a  profound  secret  then  and 
forever.  And  from  these  waters  of  baptism  the 
purified  Saints  went  to  their  inheritances  in  Zion 
—  took  their  humble  places,  and  began  to  sweat 
and  bleed  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  new  Jerusalem. 


"T'M    THE    ONE    li'ILL 
1     HAl'E    TO    BE    CAUGHT^ 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         141 

From  a  high,  tented  wagon  in  one  such  train, 
creaking  its  rough  way  down  Emigration  Canon, 
with  straining  oxen  and  tired  but  eager  people,  there 
had  leaped  one  late  afternoon  the  girl  whose  eyes 
were  to  call  to  him  so  potently,  —  incomparable 
eyes,  large  and  deep,  of  a  velvety  grayness,  under 
black  brows  splendidly  bent.  Nor  had  the  eyes 
alone  voiced  that  call  to  his  starved  senses.  He 
had  caught  the  free;  fearless  confidence  of  her  leap 
over  the  wheel,  and  her  graceful  abandon  as  she 
stood  there,  finely  erect  and  full-curved,  her  head 
with  its  Greek  lines  thrown  well  back,  and  her 
strong  hands  raised  to  readjust  the  dusky  hair  that 
tumbled  about  her  head  like  a  storm-cloud. 

Men  from  the  train  were  all  about,  and  others 
from  the  settlement,  and  these  spoke  to  her,  some 
in  serious  greeting,  some  with  jesting  words.  She 
returned  it  all  in  good  part  without  embarrassment, 
—  even  the  sally  of  the  winking  wag  who  called 
out,  "  Now  then,  Mara  Cavan !  Here  we  are,  and 
a  girl  like  yourself  ought  to  catch  an  Elder,  at  the 
very  lowest." 

She  laughed  with  easy  good-nature,  still  fumbling 
in  the  dusk  of  blown  hair  at  the  back  of  her  head, 
showing  a  full-lipped  mouth,  beautifully  large, 
with  strong-looking,  white  teeth.  "  I'll  catch  never 
a  one  myself,  if  you  please,  Nathan  Tanner!  I'll 
do  no  catching  at  all,  now!  I'm  the  one  will  have 
to  be  caught!" 

Her  voice  was  a  contralto,  with  the  little  hint  of 
roughness  that  made  it  warm  and  richly  golden; 


142         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

that  made  it  fall,  indeed,  upon  the  ears  of  the  listen 
ing  Elder  like  a  cathedral  chime  calling  him  to 
forget  all  and  worship  —  forget  all  but  that  he  was 
five  and  twenty  with  the  hot  blood  surging  and 
crowding  and  crying  out  in  his  veins. 

Now,  having  a  little  subdued  the  tossing  storm- 
cloud  of  hair,  she  stood  with  one  hand  upon  her 
hip  and  the  other  shading  her  eyes,  looking  intently 
into  the  streets  of  the  new  settlement.  And  again 
there  was  bantering  jest  from  the  men  about,  and 
the  ready,  careless  response  from  her,  with  gestures 
of  an  impishly  reckless  unconcern,  of  a  full  readiness 
to  give  and  take  in  easy  good-fellowship.  But  then, 
in  the  very  midst  of  a  light  response  to  one  of  the 
bantering  men,  her  gray  eyes  met  for  the  first  time 
the  very  living  look  of  the  young  Elder  standing 
near.  She  was  at  once  confused,  breaking  off  her 
speech  with  an  awkward  laugh,  and  looking  down. 
But,  his  eyes  keeping  steadily  upon  her,  she,  as  if 
defiantly,  returned  his  look  for  a  fluttering  second, 
trying  to  make  her  eyes  survey  him  slowly  from  head 
to  foot  with  her  late  cool  carelessness ;  but  she  had 
to  let  them  fall  again,  and  he  saw  the  colour  come 
under  the  clear  skin. 

He  knew  by  these  tokens  that  he  possessed  a 
power  over  this  splendid  woman  that  none  of  the 
other  men  could  wield,  —  she  had  lowered  her  eyes 
to  no  other  but  him  —  and  all  the  man  in  him  sang 
exultantly  under  the  knowledge.  He  greeted  her 
father,  the  little  Seumas  Cavan  of  indomitable 
spirit,  fresh,  for  all  his  march  of  a  thousand  miles, 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         143 

and  he  welcomed  them  both  to  Zion.  Again  and 
again  while  he  talked  to  them  he  caught  quick 
glances  from  the  wonderful  eyes ;  —  glances  of 
interest,  of  inquiry,  —  now  of  half-hearted  defiance, 
now  of  wondering  submission. 

The  succeeding  months  had  been  a  time  of  strug 
gle  with  him  —  a  struggle  to  maintain  his  character 
of  Elder  after  the  Order  of  Melchisedek  in  the  full 
gaze  of  those  velvety  gray  eyes,  and  in  the  light 
of  her  reckless,  full-lipped  smile;  to  present  to  the 
temptress  a  shield  of  austere  piety  which  her  softest 
glances  should  not  avail  to  melt.  For  something  in 
her  manner  told  him  that  she  divined  all  his  weak 
ness  ;  that,  if  she  acknowledged  his  power  over  her, 
she  recognised  her  own  power  over  him,  a  power 
equal  to  and  justly  balancing  the  other.  Even  when 
he  discoursed  from  the  pulpit,  his  glance  would 
fasten  upon  hers,  as  if  there  were  but  the  one  face 
before  him  instead  of  a  thousand,  and  he  knew 
that  she  mocked  him  in  her  heart ;  knew  she  divined 
there  was  that  within  him  which  strongly  would 
have  had  her  and  himself  far  away  —  alone. 

Nor  was  the  girl's  own  mind  all  of  a  piece.  For, 
if  she  flaunted  herself  before  him,  as  if  with  an 
impish  resolve  to  be  his  undoing,  there  were  still 
times  when  he  awed  her  by  his  words  of  fire,  and 
by  his  high,  determined  stand  in  some  circle  to 
which  she  knew  she  could  never  mount.  That  night 
when  he  walked  with  her  in  the  moonlight,  she 
knew  he  had  trembled  on  the  edge  of  the  gulf  fixed 
so  mysteriously  between  them.  She  had  even  felt 


144         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

herself  leaning  over  to  draw  him  down  with  her 
own  warm  arms ;  and  then  all  at  once  he  had 
strangely  moved  away,  widening  this  mysterious 
gulf  that  always  separated  them,  leaving  her  soli 
tary,  hurt,  and  wondering.  She  could  not  under 
stand  it.  Life  called  through  them  so  strongly. 
How  could  he  breast  the  mighty  rush?  And  why, 
why  must  it  be  so? 

During  the  winter  that  now  came  upon  them,  it 
became  even  a  greater  wonder  to  her;  for  it  was 
a  time  when  all  of  them  were  drawn  closer  in  a 
common  suffering  —  a  time  of  dark  days  which  she 
felt  they  might  have  lightened  for  each  other,  and 
a  time  when  she  knew  that  more  than  ever  she  drew 
him. 

For  hardly  had  the  feast  of  the  Harvest  Home 
gone  by  when  food  once  more  became  scarce.  The 
heaven-sent  gulls  had,  after  all,  saved  but  half  a 
crop.  Drought  and  early  frost  had  diminished  this ; 
and  those  who  came  in  from  the  East  came  all  too 
trustingly  with  empty  meal-sacks. 

By  the  beginning  of  winter  there  were  five 
thousand  people  in  the  valley  to  be  fed  with  miracu 
lous  loaves  and  fishes.  Half  of  these  were  without 
decent  shelter,  dwelling  under  wagon-covers  or  in 
flimsy  tents,  and  forced  much  of  the  time  to  be 
without  fuel;  for  wood  had  to  be  hauled  through 
the  snow  from  the  distant  canons,  and  so  was 
precious  stuff.  For  three  months  the  cutting  winds 
came  down  from  the  north,  and  the  pitiless  winter 
snows  raged  about  them.  An  inventory  was  early 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         145 

taken  of  the  food-stuffs,  and  thereafter  rations  were 
issued  alike  to  all,  whether  rich  or  poor.  Otherwise 
many  of  the  latter  must  have  perished.  It  was  a 
time  of  hard  expedients,  such  as  men  are  content  to 
face  only  for  the  love  of  God.  They  ranged  the 
hills  and  benches  to  dig  sego  and  thistle  roots,  and 
in  the  last  days  of  winter  many  took  the  rawhides 
from  their  roofs,  boiling  and  eating  them.  When 
spring  came,  they  watched  hungrily  for  the  first 
green  vegetation,  which  they  gathered  and  cooked. 
Truly  it  seemed  they  had  stopped  in  a  desert  as 
cruel  in  its  way  as  the  human  foes  from  whom  they 
had  fled. 

It  was  now  that  the  genius  of  their  leader  showed. 
He  was  no  longer  Brigham  Young,  the  preacher, 
but  a  father  in  Israel  to  his  starving  children.  When 
prayers  availed  not  for  a  miracle,  his  indomitable 
spirit  saved  them.  Starvation  was  upon  them  and 
nakedness  to  the  blast;  yet  when  they  desponded 
or  complained,  the  Lion  of  the  Lord  was  there  to 
check  them.  He  scolded,  pleaded,  threatened, 
roared  prophecies,  and  overcame  them,  silencing 
every  murmur.  He  made  them  work,  and  worked 
himself,  a  daily  example  before  them  of  tireless 
energy.  He  told  them  what  to  do,  and  how,  both 
for  their  material  salvation  and  their  spiritual; 
when  to  haul  wood,  and  how  to  distinguish  between 
false  and  true  spirits;  how  to  thatch  roofs  and  in 
what  manner  the  resurrection  would  occur;  how  to 
cook  thistle  roots  to  best  advantage,  and  how  God 
was  man  made  perfect;  he  reminded  them  of  the 


146         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

day  of  wrath,  and  told  them  mirthful  anecdotes  to 
make  them  laugh.  He  pictured  God's  anger  upon 
the  sinful,  and  encouraged  them  to  dance  and  to 
make  merry ;  instructed  them  in  the  mysteries  of  the 
Kingdom  and  instigated  theatrical  performances  to 
distract  their  minds.  He  was  bland  and  bullying 
by  turns;  affable  and  gruff;  jocose  and  solemn  — 
always  what  he  thought  their  fainting  spirits  needed. 
He  was  feared  and  loved  —  feared  first.  They 
learned  to  dread  the  iron  of  his  hand  and  the  steel 
of  his  heart  —  the  dauntless  spirit  of  him  that  left 
them  no  longer  their  own  masters,  yet  kept  them 
loving  their  bondage.  Through  the  dreadful  cold 
and  famine,  the  five  thousand  of  them  ceased  not 
to  pray  nor  lost  their  faith  —  their  great  faith  that 
they  had  been  especially  favoured  of  God  and  were 
at  the  last  to  be  saved  alone  from  the  wreck  of 
the  world. 

The  efforts  of  Brigham  to  put  heart  into  the 
people  were  ably  seconded  by  Joel  Rae.  He  was 
loved  like  Brigham,  but  not  fearc  1.  He -preached 
like  Brigham  submission  to  the  divine  will  as  inter 
preted  by  the  priesthood,  but  he  was  more  extrava 
gant  than  Brigham  in  his  promises  of  blessings  in 
store  for  them.  He  never  resorted  to  vagueness  in 
his  pictures  of  what  the  Lord  was  about  to  do  for 
them.  He  was  literal  and  circumstantial  to  a  degree 
that  made  Brigham  and  the  older  men  in  authority 
sometimes  writhe  in  public  and  chide  him  in  private. 
They  were  appalled  at  the  sweeping  victories  he 
promised  the  Saints  over  the  hated  Gentiles  at  an 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         147 

early  day.  They  suggested,  too,  that  the  Lord  might 
withhold  an  abundance  from  them  for  a  few  years 
until  He  had  more  thoroughly  tried  them.  But  their 
counsel  seemed  only  to  inflame  him  to  fresh  absurdi 
ties.  In  the  very  days  of  their  greatest  scarcity  that 
winter,  when  almost  every  man  was  dressed  in  skins, 
and  the  daily  fare  was  thistle  roots,  he  declared  to 
them  at  a  Sunday  service: 

"  A  time  of  plenty  is  at  hand  —  of  great  plenty. 
I  cannot  tell  you  how  I  know  these  things.  I  do 
not  know  how  they  come  to  me.  I  pray  —  and  they 
come  to  life  in  my  spirit;  that  is  how  I  have  found 
this  fact :  in  less  than  a  year  States-goods  of  all 
needed  kinds  will  be  sold  here  cheaper  than  they 
can  be  bought  in  Eastern  cities.  You  shall  have 
an  abundance  at  prices  that  will  amaze  you." 

And  the  people  thrilled  to  hear  him,  partaking  of 
his  faith,  remembering  the  gulls  that  ate  the  crickets, 
and  the  rain  and  wind  that  came  to  save  the  pioneer 
train  from  fire.  To  the  leaders  such  prophesying 
was  merely  reckless,  inviting  further  chastisements 
from  heaven,  and  calculated  to  cause  a  loss  of  faith 
in  the  priesthood. 

And  yet,  wild  as  it  was,  they  saw  this  latter 
prophecy  fulfilled ;  for  now,  so  soon  after  the  birth 
of  this  new  empire,  while  it  suffered  and  grew  weak 
and  bade  fair  to  perish  in  its  cradle  of  faith,  there 
was  made  for  it  a  golden  spoon  of  plenty. 

Over  across  the  mountains  the  year  before,  on 
the  decayed  granite  bed-rock  of  the  tail-race  at  the 
mill  of  one  Sutter,  a  man  had  picked  up  a  few  parti- 


148         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

cles  of  gold,  the  largest  as  big  as  grains  of  wheat. 
The  news  of  the  wonder  had  spread  to  the  East, 
and  now  came  frenzied  hordes  of  gold-seekers.  The 
valley  of  the  mountains  where  the  Saints  had  hoped 
to  hide  was  directly  in  their  path,  and  there  they 
stopped  their  richly  laden  trains  to  rest  and  to  renew 
their  supplies. 

The  harvest  of  '49  was  bountiful  in  all  the  valley ; 
and  thus  was  the  wild  prophecy  of  Joel  Rae  made 
sober  truth.  Many  of  the  gold-seekers  had  loaded 
their  wagons  with  merchandise  for  the  mining- 
camps;  but  in  their  haste  to  be  at  the  golden  hills, 
they  now  sold  it  at  a  sacrifice  in  order  to  lighten 
their  loads.  The  movement  across  the  Sierras  be 
came  a  wild  race;  clothing,  provisions,  tools,  and 
arms  —  things  most  needful  to  the  half-clad,  half- 
starved  community  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  —  were 
bartered  to  them  at  less  than  half-price  for  fresh 
horses  and  light  wagons.  Where  a  twenty-five  dol 
lar  pack-mule  was  sold  for  two  hundred  dollars, 
a  set  of  joiner's  tools  that  had  cost  a  hundred  dollars 
back  in  St.  Louis  would  be  bought  for  twenty-five. 

The  next  year  the  gain  to  the  Saints  was  even 
greater,  as  the  tide  of  gold-seekers  rose.  Early 
that  summer  they  sold  flour  to  the  oncoming  legions 
for  a  dollar  a  pound,  taking  their  pay  in  the  sup 
plies  they  most  needed  on  almost  their  own  terms. 

Thus  was  the  valley  of  the  mountains  a  little 
fattened,  and  thus  was  Joel  Rae  exalted  in  the  sight 
of  men  as  one  to  whom  the  secrets  of  heaven  might 
at  any  time  be  unfolded.  But  the  potent  hand  of 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         149 

Brigham  was  still  needed  to  hold  the  Saints  in  their 
place  and  in  their  faith. 

Many  would  have  joined  the  rush  for  sudden 
riches.  A  few  did  so.  Brigham  issued  a  mild  warn 
ing,  in  which  such  persons  were  described  as  "  gain- 
sayers  in  behalf  of  Mammon."  They  were  warned, 
also,  that  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento  was  unhealth- 
ful,  and  that,  in  any  event,  "  the  true  use  of  gold 
is  for  paving  streets,  covering  houses,  and  making 
culinary  dishes;  and  when  the  Saints  shall  have 
preached  the  gospel,  raised  grain,  and  built  cities 
enough,  the  Lord  will  open  up  the  way  for  a  supply 
of  gold  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  people." 

A  few  greed-stung  Saints  persisted  in  leaving  in 
the  face  of  this  friendly  admonition.  Then  the 
Lion  of  the  Lord  roared  :  "  Let  such  men  remember 
that  they  are  not  wanted  in  our  midst.  Let  them 
leave  their  carcasses  where  they  do  their  work.  We 
want  not  our  burying-grounds  polluted  with  such 
hypocrites.  Let  the  souls  of  them  go  down  to  hell, 
poverty-stricken  and  naked,  and  lie  there  until  they 
are  burned  out  like  an  old  pipe!  "  The  defections 
ceased  from  that  moment,  and  Zion  was  preserved 
intact.  Brigham  was  satisfied.  If  he  could  hold 
them  together  under  the  alluring  tales  of  gold-finds 
that  were  brought  over  the  mountains,  he  had  no 
longer  any  fear  that  they  might  fall  away  under 
mere  physical  hardship.  And  he  held  them,  —  the 
supreme  test  of  his  power  over  the  bodies  and  minds 
of  his  people. 

This  passing  of  the  gold-seekers  was  not,  how- 


150         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

ever,  a  blessing  without  drawbacks.  For  the  Saints 
had  hoped  to  wax  strong  unobserved,  unmolested, 
forgotten,  in  this  mountain  retreat.  But  now  ob 
scurity  could  no  longer  be  their  lot.  The  hated 
Gentiles  had  again  to  be  reckoned  with. 

First,  the  United  States  had  expanded  on  the 
west  to  include  their  territory  —  the  fruit  of  the 
Mexican  War  —  the  poor  bleak  desert  they  were 
making  to  blossom.  Next,  the  government  at  Wash 
ington  had  sent  to  construe  and  administer  their 
laws  men  who  were  aliens  from  the  Commonwealth 
of  Israel.  True,  Millard  Fillmore  had  appointed 
Brigham  governor  of  the  new  Territory  —  but  there 
were  chief  justices  and  associate  justices,  secretaries, 
attorneys,  marshals,  and  Indian  agents  from  the 
wicked  and  benighted  East;  men  who  frankly  dis 
believed  that  the  voice  of  Brigham  was  as  the  voice 
of  God,  and  who  did  not  hesitate  to  let  their  heresy 
be  known.  A  stream  of  these  came  and  went  — 
trouble-mongers  who  despised  and  insulted  the 
Saints,  and  returned  to  Washington  with  calumnies 
on  their  lips.  It  was  true  that  Brigham  had  con 
tinued,  as  was  right,  to  be  the  only  power  in  the 
Territory ;  but  the  narrow-minded  appointees  of  the 
Federal  government  persisted  in  misconstruing  this 
circumstance;  refusing  to  look  upon  it  as  the  just 
mark  of  Heaven's  favour,  and  declaring  it  to  be 
the  arrogance  of  a  mere  civil  usurper. 

Under  such  provocation  Joel  Rae  longed  more 
than  ever  to  be  a  Lion  of  the  Lord,  for  those  above 
him  in  the  Church  endured  too  easily,  he  considered, 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         151 

the  indignities  that  were  put  upon  them  by  these 
evil-minded  Gentile  politicians.  He  would  have 
rejected  them  forthwith,  as  he  believed  the  Lord 
would  have  had  them  do,  —  nay,  as  he  believed  the 
Lord  would  sooner  or  later  punish  them  for  not 
doing.  He  would  have  thrust  them  into  the  desert, 
and  called  upon  the  Lord  for  strength  to  meet  the 
storm  that  would  doubtless  be  raised  by  such  a 
course.  He  was  impatient  when  the  older  men  cau 
tioned  moderation  and  the  petty  wiles  of  diplomacy. 
Yet  he  was  not  altogether  discouraged;  for  even 
they  lost  patience  at  times,  and  were  almost  as  out 
spoken  as  he  could  have  wished. 

Even  Brigham,  on  one  notable  occasion,  had 
thrilled  him,  when  in  the  tabernacle  he  had  bearded 
Brocchus  and  left  him  white  and  cowering  before  all 
the  people,  trembling  for  his  life,  —  Brocchus,  the 
unworthy  Associate  Justice,  who  had  derided  their 
faith,  insulted  their  prophet,  and  slandered  their 
women.  How  he  rejoiced  in  that  moment  when 
Brigham  for  once  lost  his  temper  and  let  his  eyes 
flash  their  hate  upon  the  frightened  official. 

"  But  you,"  Brigham  had  roared,  "  standing 
there  white  and  shaking  at  the  hornets'  nest  you 
have  stirred  up  —  you  are  a  coward  —  and  that  is 
why  you  praise  men  that  are  not  cowards  —  why 
you  praise  Zachary  Taylor!  " 

Brigham  had  a  little  time  before  declared  that 
Zachary  Taylor  was  dead  and  in  hell,  and  that  he, 
Brigham,  was  glad  of  it. 

"  President  Taylor  you  can't  praise,"  he  had  gone 


152         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

on  to  the  gradually  whitening  Brocchus.  "  What 
was  he?  A  mere  soldier  with  regular  army  but 
tons  on  —  no  better  to  go  at  the  head  of  troops  than 
a  dozen  men  I  could  pick  up  between  Leavenworth 
and  Laramie.  As  to  what  you  have  intimated  about 
our  morals  —  you  miserable  cringing  coward,  you 
—  I  won't  notice  it  except  to  make  my  personal  re 
quest  of  every  brother  and  husband  present  not  to 
give  your  back  what  your  impudence  deserves. 
You  talk  of  things  you  have  on  hearsay  since  you 
came  among  us.  I'll  talk  of  hearsay,  then  —  the 
hearsay  that  you  are  mad  and  will  go  home  because 
we  can't  make  it  worth  your  while  to  stay.  What 
it  would  satisfy  you  to  get  out  of  us  it  wouldn't  be 
hard  to  tell;  but  I  know  it's  more  than  you'll  get. 
We  don't  want  you.  You  are  such  a  baby-calf  that 
we  would  have  to  sugar  your  soap  to  coax  you 
to  wash  yourself  on  Saturday  night.  Go  home  to 
your  mammy,  straightaway,  and  the  sooner  the 
better." 

This  was  the  manner,  thought  Joel  Rae,  that 
Federal  officials  should  be  treated  when  they  were 
out  of  sympathy  with  Zion  —  though  he  thought 
he  might  perhaps  have  chosen  words  that  would  be 
more  dignified  had  the  task  been  entrusted  to  him. 
He  told  Brigham  his  satisfaction  with  the  address 
when  the  excited  congregation  had  dispersed,  and 
the  alarmed  Brocchus  had  gone. 

"  That  is  the  course  we  must  take.  Brother  Brig- 
ham  —  do  more  of  it.  Unless  we  take  our  stand 
now  against  aggression,  the  Lord  will  surely  smite  us 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         153 

again  with  famine  and  pestilence."  And  Brigham 
had  answered,  in  the  tones  of  a  man  who  knows, 
"Wait  just  a  little!" 

But  there  came  famine  upon  them  again;  in 
punishment,  declared  Joel  Rae,  for  their  ungodly 
temporising  with  the  minions  of  the  United  States 
government.  In  '54  the  grasshoppers  ate  their 
growing  crops.  In  '55  they  came  again  with  insati 
ate  maws  —  and  on  what  they  left  the  drought  and 
frost  worked  their  malignant  spells.  The  following 
winter  great  numbers  of  their  cattle  and  sheep  per 
ished  on  the  range  in  the  heavy  snows. 

The  spring  of  '56  found  them  again  digging  roots 
and  resorting  to  all  the  old  pitiful  makeshifts  of 
famine. 

"  This,"  declared  Joel  Rae,  to  the  starving  people, 
"  is  a  judgment  of  Heaven  upon  us  for  permitting 
Gentile  aggression.  It  is  meant  to  clench  into  our 
minds  the  God's  truth  that  we  must  stand  by  our 
faith  with  the  arms  of  war  if  need  be." 

"  Brother  Rae  is  just  a  little  mite  soul-proud," 
Brigham  thereupon  confided  to  his  counsellors,  "  and 
I  wouldn't  wonder  if  the  Lord  would  be  glad  to 
see  some  of  it  taken  out  of  him.  Anyway,  I've  got 
a  job  for  him  that  will  just  about  do  it." 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Joel  Roe  Is  Treated  for  Pride  of  Soul 

BRIGHAM  sent  for  him  the  next  day  and  did 
him  the  honour  to  entrust  to  him  an  important 
mission.  He  was  to  go  back  to  the  Missouri 
River  and  bring  on  one  of  the  hand-cart  parties  that 
were  to  leave  there  that  summer.  The  three  years 
of  famine  had  left  the  Saints  in  the  valley  poor, 
so  that  the  immigration  fund  was  depleted.  The 
oncoming  Saints,  therefore,  who  were  not  able  to 
pay  their  own  way,  were  this  summer,  instead  of 
riding  in  ox-carts,  to  walk  across  the  plains  and 
mountains,  and  push  their  belongings  before  them  in 
hand-carts.  It  had  become  Brigham's  pet  scheme, 
and  the  Lord  had  revealed  to  him  that  it  would  work 
out  auspiciously.  Joel  prepared  to  obey,  though  it 
was  not  without  aversion  that  he  went  again  to 
the  edge  of  the  Gentile  country. 

He  was  full  of  bitterness  while  he  was  obliged  to 
tarry  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri.  The  hatred  of 
those  who  had  persecuted  him  and  his  people,  bred 
into  him  from  boyhood,  flashed  up  in  his  heart 
with  more  fire  than  ever.  Even  when  a  late  comer 

154 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         155 

from  Nauvoo  told  him  that  Prudence  Corson  had 
married  Captain  Girnway  of  the  Carthage  Grays, 
two  years  after  the  exodus  from  Nauvoo,  his  first 
feeling  was  one  of  blazing  anger  against  the  mobo- 
crats  rather  than  regret  for  his  lost  love. 

"  They  moved  down  to  Jackson  County,  Missouri, 
too,"  concluded  his  informant,  thus  adding  to  the 
flame.  They  had  gone  to  set  up  their  home  in  the 
very  Zion  that  the  Gentiles  with  so  much  bloodshed 
had  wrested  from  the  Saints. 

Even  when  the  first  anger  cooled  and  he  could 
face  the  thing  calmly  in  all  its  deeper  aspects,  he 
was  still  very  bitter.  While  he  had  stanchly  kept 
himself  for  her,  cherishing  with  a  single  heart  all 
the  old  memories  of  her  dearness,  she  had  been  a 
wife  these  seven  years,  —  the  wife,  moreover,  of  a 
mob-leader  whose  minions  had  put  them  out  of  their 
home,  and  then  wantonly  tossed  his  father  like  a 
dead  branch  into  the  waters.  She  had  loved  this 
uniformed  murderer  —  his  little  Prue  —  perhaps 
borne  him  children,  while  he,  Joel  Rae,  had  been  all 
too  scrupulously  true  to  her  memory,  fighting  against 
even  the  pleased  look  at  a  woman ;  fighting  —  only 
the  One  above  could  know  with  what  desperate 
valour  —  against  the  warm-hearted  girl  with  the 
gray  eyes  and  the  red  lips,  who  laughed  in  her  knowl 
edge  that  she  drew  him  —  fighting  her  away  for  a 
sentimental  figment,  until  she  had  married  another. 

Now  when  he  might  have  let  himself  turn  to  her, 
his  heart  freed  of  the  image  of  that  yellow-haired 
girl  so  long  cherished,  this  other  was  the  wife  of 


156         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

Elder  Pixley  —  the  fifth  wife  —  and  an  unloving 
wife  as  he  knew. 

She  had  sought  him  before  the  marriage,  and 
there  had  been  some  wholly  frank  and  simple  talk 
between  them.  It  had  ended  by  his  advising  her  to 
marry  Elder  Pixley  so  that  she  might  be  saved  into 
the  Kingdom,  and  by  her  replying,  with  the  old 
reckless  laugh,  a  little  dry  and  strained,  and  with 
the  wonderful  gray  eyes  full  upon  him,  — "  Oh, 
I'll  marry  him !  Small  difference  to  me  what  man 
of  them  I  marry  at  all,  —  now !  " 

And  while  he,  by  a  mighty  effort,  had  held  down 
his  arms  and  let  her  turn  away,  the  woman  for  whose 
memory  he  did  it  was  the  wife  of  an  enemy,  caring 
nothing  for  his  fidelity,  sure  to  feel  not  more  than 
amused  pity  for  him  should  she  ever  know  of  it. 
Surely,  it  had  been  a  brave  struggle  —  for  nothing. 

But  again  the  saving  thought  came  that  he  was 
being  tried  for  a  purpose,  for  some  great  work. 
And  now  it  seemed  that  the  time  of  it  must  be  near. 
As  to  what  it  was  there  could  be  little  question : 
it  must  be  to  free  his  people  forever  from  Gentile 
aggression  or  interference.  Everything  pointed  to 
that.  He  was  to  be  entrusted  with  great  powers, 
and  be  made  a  Lion  of  the  Lord  to  lead  them 
to  their  rightful  glory. 

He  was  eager  to  be  back  to  the  mountains  where 
he  could  fitly  receive  this  new  power,  and  becom 
ingly  make  it  known  that  he  had  been  chosen  of 
Heaven  to  free  them  forever  from  the  harassing 
Gentile.  He  felt  instinctively  that  a  climax  was  close 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         157 

at  hand  —  some  dread  moment  of  turning  that 
would  try  the  faith  of  the  Saints  once  for  all  —  try 
his  own  faith  as  well,  and  at  last  bring  his  great 
Witness  before  him,  if  his  soul  should  survive  the 
perilous  ordeal.  For  he  had  never  ceased  to  wait 
for  this  heavenly  Witness  —  something  he  needed 
—  he  knew  not  what  —  some  great  want  of  his  soul 
unsatisfied  despite  all  the  teachings  of  the  temple 
priesthood.  The  hunger  gnawed  in  his  heart,  —  a 
hunger  that  only  his  Witness  could  feed. 

When  the  hand-cart  party  came  in  across  the 
prairies  of  Iowa  he  made  all  haste  to  be  off  with  it 
to  the  valley  of  the  Lake.  Several  such  parties  had 
left  the  Missouri  earlier  in  the  season.  His  own  was 
to  be  the  last.  There  were  six  hundred  of  them, 
young  and  old,  men,  women,  and  children.  Their 
carts  moved  on  two  light  wheels  with  two  projecting 
shafts  of  hickory  joined  by  a  cross-piece.  He  was 
indignant  to  learn  that  the  Gentiles  along  the  route 
of  their  march  across  Iowa  had  tried  to  beguile 
these  people  from  their  faith.  And  even  while  they 
were  in  camp  on  the  Missouri  there  were  still  un 
godly  ones  to  warn  them  that  they  were  incurring 
grave  dangers  by  starting  across  the  plains  so  late 
in  the  season. 

With  rare  fervour  he  rallied  the  company  from 
these  attacks,  pointed  out  the  divine  source  of  the 
hand-cart  plan,  prophesied  blessings  and  abundance 
upon  them  for  their  faith  in  starting,  and  dwelt 
warningly  upon  the  sin  they  would  be  guilty  of 
should  they  disobey  their  leader  and  refuse  to  start. 


158         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

They  responded  bravely,  and  by  the  middle  of 
August  all  was  ready  for  the  march.  He  divided 
them  into  hundreds,  allotting  to  each  hundred  five 
tents,  twenty  hand-carts,  and  one  wagon,  drawn  by 
three  yokes  of  oxen,  to  carry  the  tents  and  provi 
sions.  Families  with  more  young  men  than  were 
needed  to  push  their  own  carts  helped  families  not 
so  well  provided;  but  many  carts  had  to  be  pushed 
by  young  girls  and  women. 

He  put  the  company  on  rations  at  the  time  of 
starting;  ten  ounces  of  flour  to  each  adult,  four 
ounces  to  children,  with  bacon,  sugar,  coffee,  and 
rice  served  occasionally;  for  he  had  been  unable  to 
obtain  a  full  supply  of  provisions.  Even  in  the  first 
days  of  the  march  some  of  the  men  would  eat  their 
day's  allowance  for  breakfast,  depending  on  the 
generosity  of  settlers  by  the  way,  so  long  as  there 
were  any,  for  what  food  they  had  until  another 
morning.  They  were  sternly  rebuked  by  their 
leader  for  thus,  without  shame,  eating  the  bread 
of  ungodliness. 

Their  first  trouble  after  leaving  the  Missouri  was 
with  the  carts;  their  construction  in  all  its  details 
had  been  dictated  from  on  high,  but  the  dust  of  the 
parched  prairie  sifted  into  the  wooden  hubs,  and 
ground  the  axles  so  that  they  broke.  This  caused 
delay  for  repairs,  and  as  there  was  no  axle  grease, 
many  of  them,  hungry  as  they  were,  used  their 
scanty  allowance  of  bacon  to  grease  the  wheels. 

Yet  in  spite  of  these  hardships  they  were  cheerful, 
and  in  the  early  days  of  the  march  they  sang  with 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         159 

spirit,  to  the  tune  of  "  A  Little  More  Cider,"  the 
hymn  of  the  hand-cart  written  by  one  of  their 
number : 

"  Hurrah  for  the  Camp  of  Israel ! 

Hurrah  for  the  hand-cart  scheme  ! 
Hurrah,  hurrah  !  'tis  better  far 
Than  the  wagon  and  ox-team. 

"  Oh,  our  faith  goes  with  the  hand-carts, 
And  they  have  our  hearts'  best  love ; 
'Tis  a  novel  mode  of  travelling 
Designed  by  the  Gods  above. 


"  And  Brigham's  their  executive, 

He  told  us  their  design  ; 
And  the  Saints  are  proudly  marching  on 
Along  the  hand-cart  line. 

"  Who  cares  to  go  with  the  wagons? 
Not  we  who  are  free  and  strong. 
Our  faith  and  arms  with  a  right  good  will 
Shall  push  our  carts  along." 


At  Wood  River  the  plains  seethed  with  buffalo, 
a  frightened  herd  of  which  one  night  caused  a 
stampede  of  their  cattle.  After  that  the  frail  carts 
had  to  relieve  the  wagons  of  a  part  of  their  loads,  in 
order  that  the  remaining  animals  could  draw  them, 
each  cart  taking  on  a  hundred  more  pounds. 

Thus,  overworked  and  insufficiently  fed,  they 
pushed  valiantly  on  under  burning  suns,  climbing 
the  hills  and  wading  the  streams  with  their  burdens, 
the  vigorous  in  the  van.  For  a  mile  behind  the 


160         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

train  straggled  the  lame  and  the  sick.  Here  would 
be  an  aged  sire  in  Israel  walking  painfully,  supported 
by  a  son  or  daughter;  there  a  mother  carrying  a 
child  at  her  breast,  with  others  holding  by  her 
skirts;  a  few  went  on  crutches. 

As  they  toiled  painfully  forward  in  this  wise, 
they  were  heartened  by  a  visit  from  a  number  of 
Elders  who  overtook  them  in  returning  to  the 
valley.  These  good  men  counselled  them  to  be 
faithful,  prayerful,  and  obedient  to  their  leader  in 
all  things,  prophesying  that  they  should  reach  Zion 
in  safety,  —  that  though  it  might  storm  on  their 
right  and  on  their  left,  the  Lord  would  open  their 
way  before  them.  They  cried  "Amen!"  to  this, 
and,  at  the  request  of  the  Elders,  killed  one  of  their 
few  remaining  cattle  for  them,  cheering  them  as  they 
drove  on  in  the  morning  in  their  carriages. 

They  took  up  the  march  with  new  courage;  but 
then  in  a  few  days  came  a  new  danger  to  threaten 
them,  —  the  cold.  A  rule  made  by  Brigham  had 
limited  each  cart's  outfit  of  clothing  and  bedding 
to  seventeen  pounds.  This  had  now  become  in 
sufficient.  As  they  advanced  up  the  Sweetwater, 
the  mountains  on  either  side  took  on  snow.  Fre 
quent  wading  of  the  streams  chilled  them.  Morning 
would  find  them  numb,  haggard,  spiritless,  unfitted 
for  the  march  of  the  day. 

A  week  of  this  cold  weather,  lack  of  food,  and 
overwork  produced  their  effect.  The  old  and  the 
weak  became  too  feeble  to  walk;  then  they  began 
to  die,  peacefully,  smoothly,  as  a  lamp  ceases  to 


THE   LIONS    OF    THE   LORD          161 

burn  when  the  oil  is  gone.  At  first  the  deaths  oc 
curred  irregularly;  then  they  were  frequent;  soon 
it  was  rarely  that  they  left  a  camp-ground  without 
burying  one  or  more  of  their  number. 

Nor  was  death  long  confined  to  the  old  and  the 
infirm.  Young  men,  strong  at  the  start,  worn  out 
now  by  the  rigours  of  the  march,  began  to  drop.  A 
father  would  pull  his  cart  all  day,  perhaps  with  his 
children  in  it,  and  die  at  night  when  camp  was 
reached.  Each  day  lessened  their  number. 

But  they  died  full  of  faith,  murmuring  little,  and 
having  for  their  chief  regret,  apparently,  that  they 
must  be  left  on  the  plains  or  mountains,  instead  of 
resting  in  the  consecrated  ground  of  Zion  —  this, 
and  that  they  must  die  without  looking  upon  the 
face  of  their  prophet,  seer,  and  revelator. 

Their  leader  cheered  them  as  best  he  could.  He 
was  at  first  puzzled  at  the  severity  of  their  hardships 
in  the  face  of  past  prophecies.  But  light  at  last 
came  to  him.  He  stopped  one  day  to  comfort  a  wan, 
weak  man  who  had  halted  in  dejection  by  the  road. 

"  You  have  had  trouble?  "  he  asked  him,  and  the 
man  had  answered,  wearily : 

"  No,  not  what  you  could  call  trouble.  When 
we  left  Florence  my  mother  could  walk  eighteen  or 
twenty  miles  a  day.  She  did  it  for  weeks.  But  then 
she  wore  out,  and  I  had  to  haul  her  in  my  cart; 
but  it  was  only  for  three  days.  She  gave  up  and 
died  before  we  started  out,  the  morning  of  the 
fourth  day.  We  buried  her  by  the  roadside  without 
a  coffin  —  that  was  hard,  to  put  her  old,  gray  head 


1 62         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

right  down  into  the  ground  with  no  protection.  It 
made  us  mourn,  for  she  had  always  been  such  a 
good  friend.  Then  we  went  on  a  few  days,  and  my 
sister  gave  out.  I  carried  her  in  the  cart  a  few 
days,  but  she  died  too.  Then  my  youngest  child, 
Ephraim,  died.  Then  I  fell  sick  myself,  and  my 
wife  has  pushed  the  cart  with  me  in  it  for  two  days. 
She  looked  so  tired  to-day  that  I  got  out  to  rest 
her.  But  we  don't  call  it  trouble,  only  for  the  cold 
—  my  wife  has  a  chill  every  time  she  has  to  wade 
one  of  those  icy  streams.  She's  not  very  used  to 
rough  life." 

As  he  listened  to  the  man's  tale,  the  truth  came 
to  him  in  a  great  light.  Famine  not  sufficing,  the 
Lord  was  sending  this  further  affliction  upon  them. 
He  was  going  to  goad  them  into  asserting  and 
maintaining  their  independence  of  his  enemies,  the 
Gentiles.  The  inspiration  of  this  thought  nerved  him 
anew.  Though  they  all  died,  to  the  last  child,  he 
would  live  to  carry  back  to  Zion  the  message  that 
now  burned  within  him.  They  had  temporised  with 
the  Gentile  and  had  grown  lax  among  themselves. 
They  must  be  aroused  to  repentance,  and  God  would 
vsave  him  to  do  the  work. 

So,  when  the  snow  came  at  last,  the  final  touch  of 
hardship,  driving  furiously  about  the  unprotected 
women  and  children,  putting  wild  fear  into  the  heart 
of  every  man,  he  remained  calm  and  sure  and  defiant. 
The  next  morning  the  snow  lay  heavily  about  them, 
and  they  had  to  dig  through  it  to  bury  five  of  their 
number  in  one  grave.  The  morning  before,  they 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         163 

had  issued  their  last  ration  of  flour.  Now  he 
divided  among  the  company  a  little  hard  bread  they 
had  kept,  and  waited  in  the  snow,  for  they  could 
travel  no  further  without  food. 

One  of  their  number  was  sent  ahead  to  bring  aid. 
After  a  day  in  which  they  ate  nothing,  supplies 
reached  them  from  the  valley;  but  now.  they  were 
so  weakened  that  food  could  not  fortify  them 
against  the  extreme  cold  that  had  set  in.  They 
wrapped  themselves  in  their  few  poor  quilts,  and 
struggled  bravely  on  into  a  white,  stinging  fog  of 
snow.  Each  morning  there  were  more  and  more  of 
them  to  bury.  And  even  the  burial  was  a  mockery, 
for  wolves  were  digging  at  the  graves  almost  before 
the  last  debilitated  straggler  had  left  the  camping- 
place.  The  heavy  snows  continued,  but  movement 
was  necessary.  Into  the  white  jaws  of  the  beautiful, 
merciless  demon  they  went. 

Among  the  papers  of  a  man  he  helped  to  bury, 
Joel  Rae  found  a  journal  that  the  dead  man  had 
kept  until  within  a  few  days  of  his  death.  By  the 
light  of  his  last  candle  he  read  it  until  late  into 
the  night. 

"  The  weather  grew  colder  each  day ;  and  many 
got  their  feet  so  badly  frozen  that  they  could  not 
walk  and  had  to  be  lifted  from  place  to  place.  Some 
got  their  fingers  frozen ;  others  their  ears ;  and  one 
woman  lost  her  sight  by  the  frost.  These  severities 
of  the  weather  also  increased  our  number  of  deaths, 
so  that  we  buried  several  each  day. 


1 64         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  The  day  we  crossed  the  Rocky  Ridge  it  was 
snowing  a  little  —  the  wind  hard  from  the  north 
west,  and  blowing  so  keenly  that  it  almost  pierced 
us  through.  We  had  to  wrap  ourselves  closely  in 
blankets,  quilts,  or  whatever  else  we  could  get,  to 
keep  from  freezing.  Elder  Rae  this  day  appointed 
me  to  bring  up  the  rear.  My  duty  was  to  stay 
behind  everything  and  see  that  nobody  was  left 
along,  the  road.  I  had  to  bury  a  man  who  had  died 
in  my  hundred,  and  I  finished  doing  so  after  the 
company  had  started.  In  about  half  an  hour  I  set 
out  on  foot  alone  to  do  my  duty  as  rear-guard  to 
the  camp.  The  ascent  of  the  ridge  commenced  soon 
after  leaving  camp,  and  I  had  not  gone  far  up  it 
before  I  overtook  the  carts  that  the  folks  could  not 
pull  through  the  snow,  here  about  knee-deep.  I 
helped  them  along,  and  we  soon  overtook  another. 
By  all  hands  getting  to  one  cart  we  could  travel ;  so 
we  moved  one  of  the  carts  a  few  rods,  and  then 
went  back  and  brought  up  the  others.  After  moving 
in  this  way  for  awhile,  we  overtook  other  carts  at 
different  points  of  the  hill,  until  we  had  six  carts, 
not  one  of  which  could  be  moved  by  the  parties 
owning  it.  I  put  our  collective  strength  to  three 
carts  at  a  time,  took  them  a  short  distance,  and  then 
brought  up  the  other  three.  Thus  by  travelling  over 
the  hill  three  times  —  twice  forward  and  once  back 
—  I  succeeded  after  hours  of  toil  in  bringing  my 
little  company  to  the  summit.  The  carts  were  then 
trotted  on  gaily  down-hill,  the  intense  cold  stirring 
us  to  action. 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         165 

"  One  or  two  parties  who  were  with  these  carts 
gave  up  entirely,  and  but  for  the  fact  that  we  over 
took  one  of  our  ox-teams  that  had  been  detained  on 
the  road,  they  must  have  perished  on  the  Rocky 
Ridge.  One  old  man  named  James,  a  farmer  from 
Gloucestershire,  who  had  a  large  family,  and  who 
had  worked  very  hard  all  the  way,  I  found  sitting 
by  the  roadside  unable  to  pull  his  cart  any  farther. 
I  could  not  get  him  into  the  wagon,  as  it  was  already 
overcrowded.  He  had  a  shotgun,  which  he  had 
brought  from  England,  and  which  had  been  a  great 
blessing  to  him  and  his  family,  for  he  was  a  good 
shot,  and  often  had  a  mess  of  sage-hens  or  rabbits 
for  his  family.  I  took  the  gun  from  his  cart,  put 
a  bundle  on  the  end  of  it,  placed  it  on  his  shoulder, 
and  started  him  out  with  his  little  boy,  twelve  years 
old.  His  wife  and  two  daughters,  older  than  the 
boy,  took  the  cart  along  finely  after  reaching  the 
summit. 

"  We  travelled  along  with  the  ox-team  and  over 
took  others,  all  so  laden  with  the  sick  and  helpless 
that  they  moved  very  slowly.  The  oxen  had  almost 
given  out.  Some  of  our  folks  with  carts  went  ahead 
of  the  team,  for  where  the  roads  were  good  they 
could  out-travel  oxen ;  but  we  constantly  overtook 
stragglers,  some  with  carts,  some  without,  who  had 
been  unable  to  keep  pace  with  the  body  of  the  com 
pany.  We  struggled  along  in  this  weary  way  until 
after  dark,  and  by  this  time  our  rear  numbered 
three  wagons,  eight  hand-carts,  and  nearly  forty 
persons. 


1 66         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

"  With  the  wagons  were  Millen  Atwood,  Levi 
Savage,  and  William  Woodward,  captains  of  hun 
dreds,  faithful  men  who  had  worked  all  the  way. 
We  finally  came  to  a  stream  of  water  which  was 
frozen  over.  We  could  not  see  where  the  company 
had  crossed.  If  at  the  point  where  we  struck  the 
creek,  then  it  had  frozen  over  since  they  passed  it. 
We  started  one  team  across,  but  the  oxen  broke 
through  the  ice,  and  would  not  go  over.  No 
amount  of  shouting  and  whipping  could  induce  them 
to  stir  an  inch.  We  were  afraid  to  try  the  other 
teams,  for  even  could  they  cross,  we  could  not  leave 
the  one  in  the  creek  and  go  on. 

"  There  was  no  wood  in  the  vicinity,  so  we  could 
make  no  fire,  and  we  were  uncertain  what  to  do. 
We  did  not  know  the  distance  to  the  camp,  but  sup 
posed  it  to  be  three  or  four  miles.  After  consulting 
about  it,  we  resolved  that  some  one  should  go  on 
foot  to  the  camp  to  inform  the  captain  of  our  situa 
tion.  I  was  selected  to  perform  the  duty,  and  I 
set  out  with  all  speed.  In  crossing  the  creek  I 
slipped  through  the  ice  and  got  my  feet  wet,  my 
boots  being  nearly  worn  out.  I  had  not  gone  far 
when  I  saw  some  one  sitting  by  the  roadside.  I 
stopped  to  see  who  it  was,  and  discovered  the  old 
man,  James,  and  his  little  boy.  The  poor  old  man 
was  quite  worn  out. 

"  I  got  him  to  his  feet  and  had  him  lean  on  me, 
and  he  walked  a  little  distance,  but  not  very  far.  1 
partly  dragged,  partly  carried,  him  a  short  distance 
farther,  but  he  was  quite  helpless,  and  my  strength 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         167 

failed  me.  Being  obliged  to  leave  him  to  go  for 
ward  on  my  own  errand,  I  put  down  a  quilt  I  had 
wrapped  around  me,  rolled  him  in  it,  and  told  the 
little  boy  to  walk  up  and  down  by  his  father,  and  on 
no  account  to  sit  down,  or  he  would  be  frozen  to 
death.  He  asked  me  very  bravely  why  God  or  Brig- 
ham  Young  had  not  sent  us  some  food  or  blankets. 

"  I  again  set  out  for  the  camp,  running  all  the 
way  and  frequently  falling  down,  for  there  were 
many  obstructions  and  holes  in  the  road.  My  boots 
were  frozen  stiff,  so  that  I  had  not  the  free  use  of 
my  feet,  and  it  was  only  by  rapid  motion  that  I 
kept  them  from  being  badly  frozen.  As  it  was,  both 
feet  have  been  nipped. 

"  After  some  time,  I  came  in  sight  of  the  camp- 
fires,  which  encouraged  me.  As  I  neared  the  camp, 
I  frequently  overtook  stragglers  on  foot,  all  press 
ing  forward  slowly.  I  stopped  to  speak  to  each 
one,  cautioning  them  all  against  resting,  as  they 
would  surely  freeze  to  death.  Finally,  about  eleven 
p.  MV  I  reached  the  camp  almost  exhausted.  I  had 
exerted  myself  very  much  during  the  day,  and  had 
not  eaten  anything  since  breakfast.  I  reported  to 
Elder  Rae  the  situation  of  the  folks  behind.  He 
immediately  got  up  some  horses,  and  the  boys  from 
the  valley  started  back  about  midnight  to  help  the 
ox-teams  in.  The  night  was  very  severe,  and  many 
of  the  animals  were  frozen.  It  was  five  A.  M.  before 
the  last  team  reached  the  camp. 

"  I  told  my  companions  about  the  old  man  James 
and  his  little  boy.  They  found  the  little  fellow 


1 68         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

keeping  faithful  watch  over  his  father,  who  lay 
sleeping  in  my  quilt  just  as  I  left  him.  They  lifted 
him  into  a  wagon,  still  alive,  but  in  a  sort  of  stupor, 
and  he  died  just  as  they  got  him  up  by  the  fire. 
His  last  words  were  an  inquiry  as  to  the  safety  of 
his  shotgun. 

"  There  were  so  many  dead  and  dying  that  it 
was  decided  to  lay  by  for  the  day.  In  the  fore 
noon  I  was  appointed  to  go  around  the  camp  and 
collect  the  dead.  I  took  with  me  two  young  men 
to  assist  me  in  the  sad  task,  and  we  collected  to 
gether,  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes,  thirteen  corpses, 
all  stiffly  frozen.  We  had  a  large  square  hole  dug,  in 
which  we  buried  these  thirteen  people,  three  or  four 
abreast  and  three  deep.  When  they  did  not  fit  in, 
we  put  one  or  two  crosswise  at  the  head  or  feet  of 
the  others.  We  covered  them  with  willows  and  then 
with  the  earth.  When  we  buried  these  thirteen 
people,  some  of  their  relatives  refused  to  attend  the 
services.  They  manifested  an  utter  indifference 
about  it.  The  numbness  and  cold  in  their  physical 
natures  seemed  to  have  reached  the  soul,  and  to 
have  crushed  out  natural  feeling  and  affection.  Had 
I  not  myself  witnessed  it,  I  could  not  have  believed 
that  suffering  could  produce  such  terrible  results. 
But  so  it  was.  Two  others  died  during  the  day, 
and  we  buried  them  in  the  same  big  grave,  making 
fifteen  in  all.  Even  so  it  has  been  better  for  them 
than  to  stay  where  their  souls  would  have  been 
among  the  rejected  at  the  day  of  resurrection. 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         169 

"  But  for  Elder  Rae,  our  leader,  we  should  all 
have  perished  by  now.  He  is  at  times  severe  and 
stern  with  those  who  falter,  but  only  for  their  good. 
He  is  all  along  the  line,  helping  the  women,  who 
well-nigh  worship  him,  and  urging  on  the  men. 
He  cheers  us  by  prophesying  that  we  shall  soon 
prevail  over  all  conditions  and  all  our  enemies.  I 
think  he  must  never  sleep  and  never  eat.  At  all 
hours  of  the  night  he  is  awake.  As  to  eating,  a 
girl  in  our  hundred,  Fidelia,  daughter  of  Jabez 
Merrismith,  who  has  been  much  attracted  by  him 
and  stays  near  him  when  she  can,  called  him  aside 
the  other  day,  so  she  has  told  me,  and  gave  him  a 
biscuit  —  soaked,  perfectly  soaked,  with  bacon 
grease.  She  had  saved  it  for  many  days.  He  took 
it  and  thanked  her,  but  later  she  saw  him  giving 
it  to  the  wife  of  Henry  Glines,  who  is  hauling  Henry 
and  the  two  babies  in  the  cart.  She  taxed  him  with 
not  eating  it  himself;  but  he  told  her  that  she  had 
given  him  more  than  bread,  which  was  the  power 
to  give  bread.  The  giving  happiness,  he  told  her, 
is  always  a  little  more  than  the  taking  happiness, 
even  when  we  are  starving.  He  says  the  one  kind 
of  happiness  always  keeps  a  little  ahead  of  the 
other." 

December  ist,  the  remnant  of  the  caravan 
reached  the  city  of  the  Saints.  Of  six  hundred  set 
ting  out  from  the  Missouri  River,  over  one  quarter 
had  died  by  the  way. 


170         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

And  to  Joel  Rae  had  now  come  another  mission, 
—  one  that  would  not  let  him  wait,  for  the  spirit 
was  moving  him  strangely  and  strongly,  —  a  mis 
sion  of  reformation. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

How  the  Saints  Were  Brought  to  Repentance 

HE  put  his  torch  to  the  tinder  of  irreligion  at 
the  first  Sunday  meeting  after  his  return. 
There  were  no  premonitions,  no  warnings, 
no  signs. 

A  few  of  the  Elders  had  preceded  him  to  rejoice 
at  the  escape  of  the  last  hand-cart  party  from  death 
in  the  mountains;  and  Brigham,  after  giving  the 
newcomers  some  practical  hints  about  their  shelter 
during  the  winter  now  upon  them,  had  invited  Elder 
Rae  to  address  the  congregation. 

He  arose  and  came  uncertainly  forward,  appar 
ently  weak,  able  hardly  to  stand  without  leaning 
upon  the  desk  in  front  of  him ;  his  face  waxen  and 
drawn,  hollowed  at  the  cheeks  and  temples,  his 
long  hands  thin  to  transparency.  Life  was  betrayed 
in  him  only  by  the  eyes.  These  burned  darkly,  far 
back  under  his  brows,  and  flashed  fiercely,  as  his 
glance  darted  swiftly  from  side  to  side. 

At  first  he  spoke  weakly  and  slowly,  his  opening 
words  almost  inaudible,  so  that  the  throng  of  people 
before  him  leaned  forward  in  sympathetic  intentness, 

171 


172         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

and  silence  became  absolute  in  the  great  hall  except 
for  the  high  quavering  of  his  tones.  But  then  came 
a  miracle  of  reinvigoration.  Little  by  little  his  voice 
swelled  until  it  was  full,  sonorous,  richly  warm  and 
compelling,  the  words  pouring  from  him  with  a 
fluency  that  enchained.  Little  by  little  his  leaning, 
drooping  posture  of  weakness  became  one  of  tower 
ing  strength,  the  head  flung  back,  the  gestures  free 
and  potent.  Little  by  little  his  burning  eyes  seemed 
to  send  their  flash  and  glow  through  all  his  body, 
so  that  he  became  a  creature  of  life  and  fire. 

They  heard  each  word  now,  but  still  they  leaned 
forward  as  when  he  spoke  at  first,  inaudibly  — 
caught  thrilled  and  breathless  in  his  spell,  even  to 
the  Elders,  Priests,  and  Apostles  sitting  near  him. 
Nor  was  his  manner  alone  impressive.  His  words 
were  new.  He  was  calling  them  sinners  and  cove 
nant-breakers,  guilty  of  pride,  covetousness,  con 
tention,  lying,  stealing,  moral  uncleanness  —  and 
launching  upon  them  the  curse  of  Israel's  God 
unless  they  should  repent. 

"  It  has  been  told  you  again  and  again,"  he 
thundered,  "that  if  you  wish  to  be  great  in  the 
Kingdom  of  God  you  must  be  good.  It  has  been 
told  you  many  times,  and  now  I  burn  the  words 
once  more  into  the  bones  of  your  soul,  that  in  this 
kingdom  which  the  great  Elohim  has  again  set 
up  on  earth,  no  man,  no  woman,  can  become  great 
without  being  good,  without  being  true  to  his  integ 
rity,  faithful  to  his  trust,  full  of  charity  and  good 
works. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         173 

"  Hear  it  now :  if  you  do  not  order  your  lives 
to  do  all  the  good  you  can,  if  you  are  false  to  one 
trust,  you  shall  be  stripped  naked  before  Jehovah 
of  all  your  anticipations  of  greatness.  And  you 
have  failed  in  your  work;  you  have  been  false  to 
your  trust;  you  have  been  lax  and  wicked,  and 
you  have  temporised,  nay,  affiliated  with  Gentiles. 
I  have  asked  myself  if  this,  after  all,  may  not  have 
been  the  chief  cause  of  God's  present  wrath  upon 
us.  The  flesh  is  weak.  I  have  had  my  own  hours 
of  wrestling  with  Satan.  We  all  know  his  cunning 
to  take  shapes  that  most  weaken,  beguile,  and  unman 
us,  and  small  wonder  if  many  of  us  succumb.  But 
this  other  sin  is  wilful.  Not  only  have  Gentile 
officers,  Federal  officers,  come  among  us  and  been 
let  to  insult,  abuse,  calumniate,  and  to  trample  upon 
our  most  sacred  ordinances,  but  we  have  consorted, 
traded,  and  held  relations  with  the  Gentiles  that  pass 
by  us.  You  have  the  term  '  winter  Mormons/  a 
generation  of  vipers  who  come  here,  marry  your 
daughters  in  the  fall,  rest  with  you  during  the 
winter,  and  pass  on  to  the  gold  fields  in  the  spring, 
never  to  return.  You,  yourselves,  coined  the  God 
less  phrase.  But  how  can  you  utter  it  without  crim 
son  faces?  I  tell  you  now,  God  is  to  make  a  short 
work  upon  this  earth.  His  lines  are  being  drawn, 
and  many  of  you  before  me  will  be  left  outside. 
The  curtains  of  Zion  have  been  spread,  but  you 
are  gone  beyond  their  folds.  You  are  no  longer 
numbered  in  the  household  of  faith.  For  your  weak 
souls  the  sealing  keys  of  power  have  been  delivered 


174         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

in  vain.  You  have  become  waymarks  to  the  king 
dom  of  folly.  This  is  truth  I  tell  you.  It  has  been 
frozen  and  starved  into  me,  but  it  will  be  burned 
into  you.  For  your  sins,  the  road  between  here 
and  the  Missouri  River  is  a  road  between  two  lines 
of  graves.  For  your  sins,  from  the  little  band  I 
have  just  brought  in,  one  hundred  and  fifty  faithful 
ones  fell  asleep  by  the  wayside,  and  their  bodies 
went  to  be  gnawed  by  the  wolves.  How  long  shall 
others  die  for  you?  Forever,  think  you?  No! 
Your  last  day  is  come.  Repent,  confess  your  sins 
in  all  haste,  be  buried  again  in  the  waters  of  bap 
tism,  then  cast  out  the  Gentile,  and  throw  off  his 
yoke,  —  and  thereafter  walk  in  trembling  all  your 
days,  —  for  your  wickedness  has  been  great." 

Such  was  the  opening  gun  in  what  became  known 
as  the  "  reformation."  The  conditions  had  been 
ripe  for  it,  and  in  that  very  moment  a  fever  of  re 
pentance  spread  through  the  two  thousand  people 
who  had  cowered  under  his  words.  Alike  with  the 
people  below,  the  leaders  about  him  had  been  fired 
with  his  spirit,  and  when  he  sat  down  each  of  them 
arose  in  turn  and  echoed  his  words,  denouncing  the 
people  for  their  sins  and  exhorting  them  to  repent 
ance. 

After  another  hour  of  this  excitement,  priests 
and  people  became  alike  demoralised,  and  the  meet 
ing  broke  up  in  a  confusion  of  terror. 

As  the  doors  of  the  tabernacle  flew  open,  and  the 
Saints  pushed  out  of  that  stifling  atmosphere  of 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         175 

denunciation,  a  cry  came  to  the  lips  of  the  dozen 
that  first  escaped: 

"  To  the  river  —  the  waters  of  baptism!  " 

The  words  were  being  taken  up  by  others  until 
the  cry  had  run  back  through  the  crowd  to  the 
leaders,  still  talking  in  excited  groups  about  the 
pulpit.  These  comprehended  when  they  heard  it, 
and  straightway  a  line  of  conscience-stricken  Saints 
was  headed  toward  the  river. 

There  in  the  icy  Jordan,  on  that  chill  December 
afternoon,  when  the  snows  lay  thick  on  the  ground, 
the  leaders  stood  and  buried  the  sinful  ones  anew 
in  the  cleansing  waters.  From  the  sinners  them 
selves  came  cries  of  self-accusation ;  from  the  crowd 
on  the  banks  came  the  strains  of  hymns  to  fortify 
them  for  the  icy  ordeal  and  the  public  confession. 

There  in  the  freezing  current  stood  Joel  Rae 
until  long  after  the  December  sun  had  gone  below 
the  Oquirrh  hills,  performing  his  office  of  baptism, 
and  reviving  hope  in  those  his  words  had  smitten 
with  fear. 

His  strength  already  depleted  by  the  long  march 
with  the  hand-cart  party  and  by  the  exhausting 
strain  of  the  day,  he  was  early  chilled  by  the  water 
into  which  he  plunged  the  repentant  sinners.  For 
the  last  hour  that  he  stood  in  the  stream,  his  whole 
body  was  numb;  he  had  ceased  to  feel  life  in  his 
feet,  and  his  arms  worked  with  a  mechanical  stiffness 
like  the  arms  of  some  automaton  over  which  his 
mind  had  control. 

For  there  was  no  numbness  as  yet  in  his  mind. 


1 76         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

It  was  wonderfully  clear  and  active.  He  had  begun 
a  great  work.  His  words  had  been  words  of  fire, 
and  the  flames  of  them  had  spread  so  that  in  a  little 
while  every  sinner  in  Zion  should  burn  in  them  and 
be  purified.  Even  the  leaders  —  a  great  wave  of 
exultation  surged  through  him  at  this  thought  — 
even  Brigham  had  felt  the  glow,  and  henceforth 
would  be  a  fiercer  Lion  of  the  Lord  to  resist  the 
Godless  Gentile. 

Long  after  sensation  had  left  his  body  his 
thoughts  were  rushing  in  this  fever  of  realisation, 
while  his  chilled  hands  made  new  in  the  Kingdom 
such  sinners  as  came  there  repenting. 

Not  until  night  fell  did  the  hymns  cease  and  the 
crowd  dwindle  away.  The  air  grew  colder,  and  he 
began  to  feel  pain  again,  the  water  cutting  against 
his  legs  like  a  blade.  Little  groups  were  now  hurry 
ing  off  in  the  darkness,  and  the  last  Saint  he  had 
baptised  was  standing  for  the  moment,  chill  and 
dripping,  on  the  bank. 

Seeing  there  was  no  one  else  to  come,  he  stag 
gered  out  of  the  stream  where  he  had  stood  for 
three  hours,  finding  his  feet  curiously  clumsy  and 
uncontrollable.  Below  him  in  the  stream  another 
Elder  still  waited  to  baptise  a  man  and  woman ; 
but  those  who  had  been  above  him  in  the  river 
were  gone,  and  his  own  work  was  done. 

He  ascended  the  bank,  and  stood  looking  back 
at  the  Elder  who  remained  in  the  stream.  This 
man  was  now  coming  out  of  the  water,  having 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         177 

performed  his  office  for  the  last  one  who  waited. 
He  called  to  Joel  Rae : 

"  Don't  stand  there,  Brother  Rae.  Hurry  and 
get  to  your  fire  and  your  warm  drink  and  your 
supper,  or  you'll  be  bed-fast  with  the  chills." 

"  It  has  been  a  glorious  day,  Brother  Maltby!  " 

"  Truly,  a  great  work  has  been  begun,  thanks  to 
you  —  but  hurry,  man!  you  are  freezing.  Get  to 
your  fireside.  We  can't  lose  you  now." 

With  a  parting  word  he  turned  and  set  off  down 
the  dark  street,  walking  unsteadily  through  the 
snow,  for  his  feet  had  to  be  tossed  ahead  of  him, 
and  he  could  not  always  do  it  accurately.  And  the 
cold,  now  that  he  was  out  of  the  water,  came  more 
keenly  upon  him,  only  it  seemed  to  burn  him 
through  and  through  with  a  white  heat.  He  felt 
his  arms  stiffening  in  his  wet  sleeves,  and  his  knees 
grow  weak.  He  staggered  on  past  a  row  of  cabins, 
from  which  the  light  of  fires  shone  out  on  the  snow. 
At  almost  every  step  he  stumbled  out  of  the  narrow 
path  that  had  been  trodden. 

"  To  your  own  fireside."  He  recalled  the  words 
of  Elder  Maltby,  and  remembered  his  own  lone, 
dark  cabin,  himself  perhaps  without  strength  to 
build  a  fire  or  to  get  food,  perhaps  without  even 
strength  to  reach  the  place,  for  he  felt  weaker  now, 
all  at  once,  and  put  his  hand  out  to  support  him 
self  against  the  fence. 

He  had  been  hearing  footsteps  behind  him,  creak 
ing  rapidly  over  the  packed  snow-path.  He  might 
have  to  ask  for  help  to  reach  his  home.  Even  as 


1 78        THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

the  steps  came  close,  he  felt  himself  swaying.  He 
leaned  over  on  the  fence,  but  to  his  amazement  that 
swayed,  too,  and  threw  him  back.  Then  he  felt 
himself  falling  toward  the  street;  but  the  creak 
ing  steps  ceased,  now  by  his  side,  and  he  felt  under 
him  something  soft  but  firm  —  something  that  did 
not  sway  as  the  fence  had  unaccountably  done. 
With  his  balance  thus  regained,  he  discovered  the 
thing  that  held  him  to  be  a  woman's  arm.  A 
woman's  face  looked  close  into  his,  and  then  she 
spoke. 

"  You  are  so  cold.  I  knew  you  would  be.  And 
I  waited  —  I  wanted  to  do  for  you  —  let  me !  " 

At  once  there  came  back  to  him  the  vision  of  a 
white-faced  woman  in  the  crowd  along  the  river 
bank,  staring  at  him  out  of  deep,  gray  eyes  under 
heavy,  black  brows. 

"Mara  — Mara!" 

"  Yes,  yes  —  you  are  so  cold !  " 

"  But  you  must  not  stand  so  close  —  see,  I  am 
wet  —  you  will  be  chilled !  " 

"  But  you  are  already  chilled ;  your  clothes  are 
freezing  on  you;  and  you  were  falling  just  now. 
Can  you  walk?  " 

"  Yes  —  yes  —  my  house  is  yonder." 

"  I  know ;  it's  far ;  it's  beyond  the  square.  You 
must  come  with  me." 

"  But  your  house  is  still  farther !  " 

She  had  started  him  now,  with  a  firm  grasp  of 
his  arm,  walking  beside  him  in  the  deep  snow,  and 
trying  to  keep  him  in  the  narrow  path. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         179 

"  No  —  I  am  staying  here  with  Hubert  Plimon's 
two  babies,  while  the  mother  has  gone  to  Provo 
where  Hubert  lies  sick.  See  —  the  light  there. 
Come  with  me  —  here's  the  gate  —  you  shall  be 
warmed." 

Slowly  and  with  many  stumblings,  leaning  upon 
her  strong  arm,  he  made  his  way  to  the  cabin  door. 
She  pushed  it  open  before  him  and  he  felt  the  great 
warm  breath  of  the  room  rush  out  upon  him.  Then 
he  was  inside,  swaying  again  uncertainly  upon  his 
feet.  In  the  hovering  light  that  came  from  the 
fireplace  he  saw  the  bed  in  the  far  corner  where 
the  two  small  children  were  sleeping,  saw  Mara 
with  her  back  to  the  door,  facing  him  breathlessly, 
saw  the  heavy  shadows  all  about;  but  he  was  con 
scious  of  hardly  more  than  the  vast  heavenly 
warmth  that  rolled  out  from  the  fire  and  enfolded 
him  and  made  him  drunk. 

Again  he  would  have  fallen,  but  she  steadied 
him  down  on  to  a  wide  couch  covered  with  buffalo 
robes,  beside  the  big  fireplace;  and  here  he  fell  at 
once  into  a  stupor.  She  drew  out  the  couch  so 
that  it  caught  more  of  the  heat,  pulled  off  the 
water-soaked  boots  and  the  stiffened  coat,  wrapped 
him  in  a  blanket  which  she  warmed  before  the  fire, 
and  covered  him  still  again  with  one  of  the  buffalo 
robes. 

She  went  then  to  bring  food  and  to  make  a  hot 
drink,  which  she  strengthened  with  brandy  poured 
from  a  little  silver  flask. 

Presently  she  aroused  him  to  drink  the  hot  liquor, 


i8o         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

and  then,  after  another  blank  of  stupor,  she  aroused 
him  again,  to  eat.  He  could  take  but  little  of  the 
food,  but  called  for  more  of  the  drink,  and  felt 
the  soul  of  it  thrill  along  his  frozen  nerves  until 
they  awoke,  sharpened,  alert,  and  eager.  He  lay 
so,  with  closed  eyes  a  little  time,  floating  in  an 
ecstasy  that  seemed  to  be  half  stupor  and  half  of 
keenest  sensibility.  Then  he  opened  his  eyes.  She 
was  kneeling  by  the  couch  on  which  he  lay.  He 
felt  her  soft,  quick  breathing,  and  noted  the  un 
natural  shining  of  her  eyes  and  lips  where  the  fire 
light  fell  upon  them.  All  at  once  he  threw  out  his 
arms  and  drew  her  to  him  with  such  a  shuddering 
rush  of  power  that  she  cried  aloud  in  quick  alarm 
—  but  the  cry  was  smothered  under  his  kisses. 

For  ages  the  transport  seemed  to  endure,  the 
little  world  of  his  senses  whirling  madly  through  an 
illimitable  space  of  sensuous  light,  his  lips  melting 
upon  hers,  his  neck  bending  in  the  circle  of  pulsing 
warmth  that  her  soft  arms  wove  about  it,  his  own 
arms  crushing  to  his  breast  with  frenzied  fervour 
the  whole  yielding  splendour  of  her  womanhood. 
A  moment  so,  then  he  fell  back  upon  the  couch, 
all  his  body  quivering  under  the  ecstasy  from  her 
parted  lips,  his  triumphant  senses  rioting  insolently 
through  the  gray,  cold  garden  of  his  vows. 

She  drew  a  little  back,  her  hands  resting  on  his 
shoulders,  and  he  saw  again  the  firelight  shining 
in  her  eyes  and  upon  her  lips.  Yet  the  eyes  were 
now  lighted  with  a  strange,  sad  reluctance,  even 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         181 

while  the  mutinous  lips  opened  their  inciting  wel 
come. 

He  was  floating  —  floating  midway  between  a 
cold,  bleak  heaven  of  denial  and  a  luring  hell  of 
consent;  floating  recklessly,  as  if  careless  to  which 
his  soul  should  go. 

His  gaze  was  once  more  upon  her  face,  and 
now,  in  a  curiously  cool  little  second  of  observation, 
he  saw  mirrored  there  the  same  conflicting  duality 
that  he  knew  raged  within  himself.  In  her  eyes 
glowed  the  pure  flame  of  fear  and  protest  —  but 
on  her  mad  lips  was  the  curl  of  provocation.  And 
as  the  man  in  him  had  waited  carelessly,  in  a  sen 
suous  luxury  of  unconcern,  for  his  soul  to  go  where 
it  might  —  far  up  or  far  down  —  so  now  the  woman 
waited  before  him  in  an  incurious,  unbiassed  calm 

—  the  clear  eyes  with  their  grave,  stern  "No!"  — 
the  parted  lips  all  but  shuddering  out  their  "  Yes! " 

Still  he  looked  and  still  the  leaning  woman  waited 

—  waited  to  welcome  with  impartial  fervour  the 
angel  or  the  devil  that  might  come  forth. 

And  then,  as  he  lay  so,  there  started  with  electric 
quickness,  from  some  sudden  coldness  of  recollec 
tion,  the  image  of  Prue.  Sharp  and  vivid  it  shone 
from  this  chill  of  truth  like  a  glittering  star  from 
the  clean  winter  sky  outside.  Prue  was  before  him 
with  the  tender  blue  of  her  eyes  and  the  fleecy 
gold  of  her  hair  and  her  joy  of  a  child  —  her 
little  figure  shrugging  and  nestling  in  his  arms  in 
happy  faith  —  calling  as  she  had  called  to  him 
that  morning  —  "  Joel  —  Joel  —  Joel! " 


1 82         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

He  shivered  in  this  flood  of  cold,  relentless  light, 
yet  unflinchingly  did  he  keep  his  face  turned  full 
upon  the  truth  it  revealed. 

And  this  was  now  more  than  the  image  of  the 
sweetheart  he  had  sworn  to  cherish  —  it  was  also 
the  image  of  himself  vowed  to  his  great  mission. 
He  knew  that  upon  neither  of  these  could  he  suffer 
a  blemish  to  come  if  he  would  not  be  forever  in 
agony.  With  appalling  clearness  the  thing  was 
lined  out  before  him. 

The  woman  at  his  side  stirred  and  his  eyes  were 
again  upon  her.  At  once  she  saw  the  truth  in  them. 
Her  parted  lips  came  together  in  a  straight  line, 
shutting  the  red  fulness  determinedly  in.  Then 
there  shone  from  her  eyes  a  glad,  sweet  welcome  to 
the  angel  that  had  issued. 

His  arms  seemed  to  sicken,  falling  limply  from 
her.  She  arose  without  speaking,  and  busied  her 
self  a  little  apart,  her  back  to  him. 

He  sat  up  on  the  couch,  looking  about  the  little 
room  curiously,  as  one  recovering  consciousness  in 
strange  surroundings.  Then  he  began  slowly  to 
pull  on  the  wet  boots  that  she  had  placed  near  the 
fire. 

When  he  stood  up,  put  on  his  coat,  and  reached 
for  his  hat,  she  came  up  to  him,  hesitating,  timid. 

"  You  are  so  cold !  If  you  would  only  stay  here 
—  I  am  afraid  you  will  be  sick." 

He  answered  very  gently: 

"  It  is  better  to  go.    I  am  strong  again,  now." 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         183 

"  I  would  —  I  would  not  be  near  you  —  and  I 
am  afraid  for  you  to  go  out  again  in  the  cold." 

He  smiled  a  little.  "  Nothing  can  hurt  me  now 
—  I  am  strong." 

He  opened  the  door,  breathing  his  fill  of  the  icy 
air  that  rushed  in.  He  stepped  outside,  then  turned 
to  her.  She  stood  in  the  doorway,  the  light  from 
the  room  melting  the  darkness  about  them. 

They  looked  long  at  each  other.  Then  in  a  sudden 
impulse  of  gratitude,  of  generous  feeling  toward  her, 
he  put  out  his  arm  and  drew  her  to  him.  She 
was  cold,  impassive.  He  bent  over  and  lightly 
kissed  her  closed,  unresponding  lips.  As  he  drew 
away,  her  hand  caught  his  wrist  for  a  second. 

"I'm  glad!"  she  said. 

He  tried  to  answer,  but  could  only  say,  "  Good 
night,  Mara!" 

Then  he  turned,  drew  the  wide  collar  of  his  coat 
well  up,  and  went  down  the  narrow  path  through  the 
snow.  She  stood,  framed  in  the  light  of  the  door 
way,  leaning  out  to  look  after  him  until  he  was 
lost  in  the  darkness. 

As  she  stepped  back  and  closed  the  door,  a  man, 
who  had  halted  by  a  tree  in  front  of  the  next  house 
when  the  door  first  opened,  walked  on  again. 

It  had  been  a  great  day,  but,  for  one  cause  or 
another,  it  came  near  to  being  one  of  the  last  days 
of  the  man  who  had  made  it  great. 

Late  the  next  afternoon,  Joel  Rae  was  found 
in  his  cabin  by  a  messenger  from  Brigham.  He 
had  presumably  lain  there  unattended  since  the 


1 84         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

night  before,  and  now  he  was  delirious  and  sick 
unto  death;  raving  of  the  sins  of  the  Saints,  and 
of  his  great  work  of  reformation.  So  tenderly 
sympathetic  was  his  mind,  said  those  who  came 
to  care  for  him,  that  in  his  delirium  he  ranked  him 
self  among  the  lowest  of  sinners  in  Zion,  imploring 
them  to  take  him  out  and  bury  him  in  the  waters 
of  baptism  so  that  he  might  again  be  worthy  to 
preach  them  the  Word  of  God. 

He  was  at  once  given  every  care,  and  for  six 
weeks  was  not  left  alone  night  or  day;  the  good 
mothers  in  Israel  vying  with  each  other  in  kindly 
offices  for  the  sick  Elder,  and  the  men  praying 
daily  that  he  might  not  be  taken  so  soon  after  his 
great  work  had  begun. 

The  fifth  wife  of  Elder  Pixley  came  once  to  sit 
by  his  bedside,  but  when  she  heard  him  rave  of 
some  great  sin  that  lay  black  upon  his  soul,  be 
seeching  forgiveness  for  it  while  the  tears  rained 
down  his  fevered  face,  she  had  professed  that  his 
suffering  sickened  her  so  she  could  not  stay.  There 
after  she  had  contented  herself  with  inquiring  at 
his  door  each  day  —  until  the  day  when  they  told 
her  that  the  sickness  was  broken ;  that  he  was  again 
rational  and  doubtless  would  soon  be  well.  After 
that  she  went  no  more;  which  was  not  unnatural, 
for  Elder  Pixley  was  about  to  return  from  his 
three  years'  mission  abroad,  and  there  was  much 
to  do  in  the  community-house  in  preparation  for 
the  master's  coming. 

But  the  long  sickness  of  the  young  Elder  did  not 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         185 

in  any  manner  stay  the  great  movement  he  had 
inaugurated.  From  that  first  Sunday  the  reforma 
tion  spread  until  it  had  reached  every  corner  of 
the  new  Zion.  The  leaders  took  up  the  accusing 
cry,  —  the  Elders,  Bishops,  High  Priests,  and  Coun 
sellors.  Missionaries  were  appointed  for  the  out 
lying  settlements,  and  meetings  wer$  held  daily 
in  every  center,  with  a  general  renewing  of  cov 
enants. 

Brigham,  who  had  warmly  seconded  Joel  Rae's 
opening  discourse,  was  now,  not  unnaturally,  the 
leader  of  the  reformation,  and  in  his  preaching  to 
the  Saints  while  Joel  Rae  lay  sick  he  committed  no 
faults  of  vagueness.  For  profane  swearing  he  re 
buked  his  people :  "  You  Elders  in  Israel  will  go 
to  the  canons  for  wood,  get  a  little  brush-whipped, 
and  then  curse  and  swear  —  damn  and  curse  your 
oxen  and  swear  by  Him  who  created  you.  You  rip 
and  curse  as  bad  as  any  pirates  ever  did !  " 

For  the  sin  of  cattle-stealing  he  denounced  them. 
A  fence  high  enough  to  keep  out  cattle-thieves,  he 
told  them,  must  be  high  enough  to  keep  out  the 
Devil. 

Sometimes  his  grievance  would  have  a  personal 
basis,  as  when  he  told  them :  "  I  have  gone  to  work 
and  made  roads  to  the  canon  for  wood ;  and  I  have 
cut  wood  down  and  piled  it  up,  and  then  I  have 
not  got  it.  I  wonder  if  any  of  you  can  say  as 
much  about  the  wood  I  have  left  there.  I  could 
tell  stories  of  Elders  that  found  and  took  my  wood 
that  should  make  professional  thieves  blush.  And 


1 86         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

again  I  have  proof  to  show  that  Bishops  have  taken 
thousands  of  pounds  of  wheat  in  tithing  which  they 
have  never  reported  to  the  general  tith ing-office, 
—  proof  that  they  stole  the  wheat  to  let  their  friends 
speculate  upon." 

Under  this  very  pointed  denunciation  many  of 
the  flock  complained  bitterly.  But  Brigham  only 
increased  the  flow  of  his  wrath  upon  them.  "  You 
need,"  said  he,  "  to  have  it  rain  pitchforks,  tines 
downward,  from  this  pulpit,  Sunday  after  Sunday." 

Still  there  were  rebellious  Saints  to  object,  and, 
as  Brigham  drew  the  lines  of  his  wrath  tighter, 
these  became  more  prominent  in  the  community. 
When  they  voiced  their  discontent,  they  angered 
the  priesthood.  But  when  they  indicated  their  pur 
pose  to  leave  the  valley,  as  many  soon  did,  they 
gave  alarm.  An  exodus  must  be  prevented  at  any 
cost,  and  so  the  priesthood  let  it  be  known  that 
migrations  from  the  valley  would  be  considered 
as  nothing  less  than  apostasy.  In  Brigham's  own 
words :  "  The  moment  a  person  decides  to  leave 
this  people,  he  is  cut  off  from  every  object  that  is 
desirable  in  time  or  eternity.  Every  possession  and 
object  of  affection  will  be  taken  from  those  who 
forsake  the  truth,  and  their  identity  will  eventually 


cease." 


But,  as  the  reform  wave  swept  on,  it  became 
apparent  that  these  words  had  been  considered 
merely  figurative  by  many  who  were  about  to  seek 
homes  outside  the  valley.  From  every  side  news 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         187 

came  privately  that  this  family  or  that  was  pre 
paring  to  leave. 

And  so  it  came  about  that  the  first  Sunday  Joel 
Rae  was  able  to  walk  to  the  tabernacle,  still  weak 
and  wasted  and  trembling,  he  heard  a  sermon  from 
Brigham  which  made  him  question  his  own  soul 
in  an  agony  of  terror.  For,  on  this  day,  was  boldly 
preached,  for  the  first  time  in  Zion,  something  which 
had  never  before  been  more  than  whispered  among 
the  highest  elect,  —  the  doctrine  of  blood-atonement 
—  of  human  sacrifice. 

"  I  am  preaching  St.  Paul,  this  morning,"  began 
Brigham,  easily.  "  Hebrews,  Chapter  ix.,  and 
Verse  22 :  '  And  almost  all  things  are  by  the  law 
purged  with  blood ;  and  without  shedding  of  blood 
is  no  remission.'  Also,  and  more  especially,  first 
Corinthians,  Chapter  v.,  Verse  5 :  *  To  deliver  such 
an  one  unto  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  the  flesh, 
that  the  spirit  may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.'  Remember  these  words  of  Paul's.  The 
time  has  come  when  justice  will  be  laid  to  the  line 
and  righteousness  to  the  plummet;  when  we  shall 
take  the  old  broadsword,  and  ask,  '  Are  you  for 
God?  '  And  if  you  are  not  heartily  on  the  Lord's 
side,  you  will  be  hewn  down." 

There  was  a  rustling  movement  in  the  throng 
before  him,  and  he  paused  until  it  subsided. 

"  I  tell  you  there  are  men  and  women  amongst 
you  who  ought  to  come  and  ask  me  to  select  a  place 
and  appoint  a  committee  to  shed  their  blood.  Only 
in  that  way  can  they  be  saved,  for  water  will  not 


1 88         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

do.  Their  sins  are  too  deep  for  that.  I  repeat  — 
there  are  covenant-breakers  here,  and  we  need  a  place 
set  apart  and  men  designated  to  shed  their  blood 
for  their  own  salvation.  If  any  of  you  ask,  do  I 
mean  you,  I  answer  yes.  We  have  tried  long  enough 
with  you,  and  now  I  shall  let  the  sword  of  the 
Almighty  be  unsheathed,  not  only  in  words  but 
in  deed.  I  tell  you  there  are  sins  for  which  men 
cannot  otherwise  receive  forgiveness  in  this  world 
nor  in  the  world  to  come;  and  if  you  guilty  ones 
had  your  eyes  opened  to  your  true  condition,  you 
would  be  willing  to  have  your  blood  spilt  upon 
the  ground  that  the  smoke  thereof  might  go  up 
to  heaven  for  your  sins.  I  know  when  you  hear 
this  talk  about  cutting  people  off  from  the  earth 
you  will  consider  it  strong  doctrine;  but  it  is  to 
save  them,  and  not  destroy  them.  Take  a  person 
in  this  congregation  who  knows  the  principles  of 
that  kind  of  life  and  sees  the  beauties  of  eternity 
before  him  compared  with  the  vain  and  foolish 
things  of  the  world  —  and  suppose  he  is  overtaken 
in  a  gross  fault  which  he  knows  will  rob  him  of 
that  exaltation  which  he  desires  and  which  he  now 
cannot  obtain  without  the  shedding  of  his  blood; 
and  suppose  he  knows  that  by  having  his  blood 
shed  he  will  atone  for  that  sin  and  be  saved  and 
exalted  with  the  Gods.  Is  there  a  man  or  woman 
here  but  would  say,  '  Save  me  —  shed  my  blood, 
that  I  may  be  exalted.'  And  how  many  of  you 
love  your  neighbour  well  enough  to  save  him  in  that 
way?  That  is  what  Christ  meant  by  loving  our 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         189 

neighbours  as  ourselves.  I  could  refer  you  to  plenty 
of  instances  where  men  have  been  righteously  slain 
to  atone  for  their  sin ;  I  have  seen  scores  and  hun 
dreds  of  people  for  whom  there  would  have  been 
a  chance  in  the  last  day  if  their  lives  had  been  taken 
and  their  blood  spilt  upon  the  ground  as  a  smok 
ing  incense  to  the  Almighty,  but  who  are  now  angels 
to  the  Devil  because  it  was  not  done.  The  weakness 
and  ignorance  of  the  nations  forbids  this  law  being 
in  full  and  open  force;  yet,  remember,  if  our  neigh 
bour  needs  help  we  must  help  him.  If  his  soul  is 
in  danger  we  must  save  it. 

"  Now  as  to  our  enemies  —  apostates  and  Gen 
tiles —  the  tree  that  brings  not  forth  good  fruit 
shall  be  hewn  down.  '  What/  you  ask,  '  do  you 
believe  that  people  would  do  right  to  put  these 
traitors  to  death  ?  '  Yes !  What  does  the  United 
States  government  do  with  traitors?  Examine  the 
doings  of  earthly  governments  on  this  point  and 
you  will  find  but  one  practise  universal.  A  word 
to  the  wise  is  enough;  just  remember  that  there 
are  sins  that  the  blood  of  a  lamb,  of  a  calf,  or  of 
a  turtle-dove,  cannot  remit." 

Under  this  discourse  Joel  Rae  sat  terrified,  with 
a  bloodless  face,  cowering  as  he  had  made  others 
to  cower  six  weeks  before.  The  words  seemed  to 
carry  his  own  preaching  to  its  rightful  conclusion; 
but  now  how  changed  was  his  world !  —  a  whirling, 
sickening  chaos  of  sin  and  remorse. 

As  he  listened  to  Brigham's  words,  picturing  the 
blood  of  the  sinner  smoking  on  the  ground,  his 


I  go         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

thoughts  fled  back  to  that  night,  —  that  night  of 
wondrous  light  and  warmth,  the  last  he  could  re 
member  before  the  great  blank  came. 

Now  the  voice  of  Brigham  came  to  him  again : 
"  '  And  almost  all  things  are  by  the  law  purged  with 
blood;  and  without  shedding  of  blood  is  no  re 
mission  ! ' 

Then  the  service  ended,  and  he  saw  Bishop 
Wright  pushing  toward  him  through  the  crowd. 

"  Well,  well,  Brother  Rae  —  you  do  look  peaked, 
for  sure!  But  you'll  pick  up  fast  enough,  and  just 
in  time,  too.  Lord!  what  won't  Brother  Brigham 
do  when  the  Holy  Ghost  gets  a  strangle-holt  on  him  ? 
Now,  then,"  he  added,  in  a  lower  tone,  "  if  I  ain't 
mistaken,  there's  going  to  be  some  work  for  the 
Sons  of  Dan!" 


CHAPTER   XV. 

How  the  Souls  of  Apostates  Were  Saved 

THE  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains  had  spoken 
truly;  there  was  work  at  hand  for  the  Sons 
of  Dan.  When  his  Witness  at  last  came  to 
Joel  Rae,  he  tried  vainly  to  recall  the  working  of 
his  mind  at  this  time;  to  remember  where  he  had 
made  the  great  turn  —  where  he  had  faced  about. 
For,  once,  he  knew,  he  had  been  headed  the  way 
he  wished  to  go,  a  long,  plain  road,  reaching  straight 
toward  the  point  whither  all  the  aspirations  of  his 
soul  urged  him. 

And  then,  all  in  a  day  or  in  a  night,  though  he 
had  seen  never  a  turn  in  the  road,  though  he  had 
gone  a  true  and  straight  course,  suddenly  he  had 
looked  up  to  find  he  was  headed  the  opposite  way. 
After  facing  his  goal  so  long,  he  was  now  going 
from  it  —  and  never  a  turn !  It  was  the  wretched 
paradox  of  a  dream. 

The  day  after  Brigham's  sermon  on  blood-atone 
ment,  there  had  been  a  meeting  in  the  Historian's 
office,  presided  over  by  Brigham.  And  here  for 
the  first  time  Joel  Rae  found  he  was  no  longer 

191 


192         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

looked  upon  as  one  too  radical.  Somewhat  dazedly, 
too,  he  realised  at  this  close  range  the  severely  prac 
tical  aspects  of  much  that  he  had  taught  in  theory. 
It  was  strange,  almost  unnerving,  to  behold  his  own 
teachings  naked  of  their  pulpit  rhetoric;  to  find 
his  long-cherished  ideals  materialised  by  literal- 
minded,  practical  men. 

He  heard  again  the  oath  he  had  sworn,  back  on 
the  river-flat :  "  I  will  assist  in  executing  all  the 
decrees  of  the  First  President,  Patriarch,  or  Presi 
dent  of  the  Twelve,  and  I  will  cause  all  who  speak 
evil  of  the  Presidency  or  Heads  of  the  Church  to 
die  the  death  of  dissenters  or  apostates  —  "  And 
then  he  had  heard  the  business  of  the  meeting  dis 
cussed.  Decisions  were  reached  swiftly,  and  orders 
given  in  words  that  were  few  and  plain.  Even  had 
these  orders  been  repugnant  to  him,  they  were  not 
to  be  questioned ;  they  came  from  an  infallible  priest 
hood,  obedience  to  which  was  the  first  essential  to 
his  soul's  salvation;  and  they  came  again  from 
the  head  of  an  organisation  to  which  he  was  bound 
by  every  oath  he  had  been  taught  to  hold  sacred. 
But,  while  they  left  him  dazed,  disconcerted,  and 
puzzled,  he  was  by  no  means  certain  that  they  were 
repugnant.  They  were  but  the  legitimate  extension 
of  his  teachings  since  childhood,  and  of  his  own 
preaching. 

In  custody  at  Kayesville,  twenty-five  miles  north 
of  Salt  Lake  City,  were  six  men  who  had  been 
arrested  by  church  authority  while  on  their  way 
east  from  California.  They  were  suspected  of  being 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         193 

Federal  spies.  The  night  following  the  meeting 
which  Joel  Rae  had  attended,  these  prisoners  were 
attacked  while  they  slept.  Two  were  killed  at  once ; 
two  more  after  a  brief  struggle;  and  the  remaining 
two  the  following  day,  after  they  had  been  pursued 
through  the  night.  The  capable  Bishop  Wright  de 
clared  in  confidence  to  Joel  Rae  that  it  reminded  him 
of  old  days  at  Nauvoo. 

The  same  week  was  saved  Rosmas  Anderson,  who 
had  incurred  rejection  from  Israel  and  eternal  wrath 
by  his  misbehaviour.  Becoming  submissive  to  the 
decree  of  the  Church,  when  it  was  made  known  to 
him  by  certain  men  who  came  in  the  night,  it  was 
believed  that  his  atonement  would  suffice  to  place 
him  once  more  in  the  household  of  faith.  He  had 
asked  but  half  a  day  to  prepare  for  the  solemn 
ceremony.  His  wife,  regretful  but  firm  in  the  faith, 
had  provided  clean  garments  for  her  sinful  husband, 
and  the  appointed  executioners  dug  his  grave.  They 
went  for  him  at  midnight.  By  the  side  of  the  grave 
they  had  let  him  kneel  and  pray.  His  throat  had 
then  been  cut  by  a  deft  hand,  and  he  was  held  so  that 
his  blood  ran  into  the  grave,  thus  consummating  the 
sacrifice  to  the  God  of  Israel.  The  widow,  obeying 
priestly  instructions,  announced  that  her  husband 
had  gone  to  California. 

Then  the  soul  of  William  Parrish  at  Springville 
was  saved  to  eternal  glory;  also  the  soul  of  his 
son,  Beason.  For  both  of  these  sinful  ones  were 
on  the  verge  of  apostasy;  had  plotted,  indeed,  and 
made  secret  preparations  to  leave  the  valley,  all  of 


1 94         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

which  were  discovered  by  church  emissaries,  for 
tunately  for  the  eternal  welfare  of  the  two  most 
concerned.  Yet  a  few  years  later,  when  the  hated 
Gentiles  had  gained  some  shadow  of  authority  in 
the  new  Zion,  their  minions  were  especially  bitter 
as  to  this  feat  of  mercy,  seeking,  indeed,  to  indict 
the  performers  of  it. 

As  to  various  persons  who  met  death  while  leav 
ing  the  valley,  opinion  was  divided  on  the  question 
of  their  ultimate  salvation.  For  it  was  announced 
concerning  these,  as  their  bodies  were  discovered 
from  time  to  time,  that  the  Indians  had  killed  them. 
This  being  true,  they  had  died  in  apostasy,  and 
their  rejection  from  the  Kingdom  was  assured. 
Yet  after  awhile  the  Saints  at  large  took  hope 
touching  the  souls  of  these;  for  Bishop  Wright, 
the  excellent  and  able  Wild  Ram  of  the  Moun 
tains,  took  occasion  to  remark  one  Sabbath 
in  the  course  of  an  address  delivered  in  the 
tabernacle :  "  And  it  amazes  me,  brethren,  to 
note  how  the  spirit  has  been  poured  out 
on  the  Lamanites.  It  really  does  seem  as  if 
an  Injun  jest  naturally  hates  an  apostate,  and  it 
beats  me  how  they  can  tell  'em  the  minute  they 
try  to  sneak  out  of  this  valley  of  the  Lord.  They 
must  lie  out  in  them  hills  jest  a-waiting  for  apos 
tates;  and  they  won't  have  anything  else;  they 
never  touch  the  faithful.  You  wouldn't  think  they 
had  so  much  fine  feeling  to  look  at  'em.  You 
wouldn't  suspect  they  was  so  sensitive,  and  almost 
bigoted,  you  might  say.  But  there  it  is  —  and  I 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         195 

don't  believe  the  critters  will  let  many  of  these  vile 
apostates  get  beyond  the  rocky  walls  of  Zion." 
Those  who  could  listen  between  the  words  began 
to  suspect  that  the  souls  of  such  apostates  had  been 
duly  saved. 

Yet  one  apostate  the  very  next  day  was  rash 
enough  to  controvert  the  Bishop's  views.  To  a 
group  of  men  in  the  public  street  at  high  noon 
and  in  a  loud  voice  he  declared  his  intention  of 
leaving  for  California,  and  he  spoke  evil  of  the 
Church. 

"  I  tell  you,"  he  said,  in  tones  of  some  excite 
ment,  "  men  are  murdered  here.  Their  murder  is 
planned  by  Bishops,  Priests,  Elders,  and  Apostles,  by 
the  President  and  his  Counsellors,  and  then  it  is 
done  by  men  they  send  to  do  it.  Their  laying  it  on 
to  the  Indians  don't  fool  me  a  minute.  That's  the 
kind  of  a  church  this  is,  and  you  don't  ketch  me 
staying  in  it  any  longer !  " 

Trees  had  been  early  planted  in  the  new  settle 
ment,  and  owing  to  the  care  bestowed  upon  them 
by  the  thrifty  colonists,  many  were  now  matured. 
From  a  stout  limb  of  one  of  these  the  speaker  was 
found  hanging  the  following  morning.  A  coroner's 
jury  hastily  summoned  from  among  the  Saints 
found  that  he  had  committed  suicide. 

Another  whose  soul  was  irrevocably  lost  was 
Frederick  Loba,  who  had  refused  to  take  more  than 
one  wife  in  spite  of  the  most  explicit  advice  from 
his  superiors  that  he  could  attain  to  but  little  glory 
either  in  this  world  or  that  to  come  with  less  than 


196         THE  LIONS   OF  THE  LORD 

three.  He  crowned  his  offense  by  speaking  dis 
respectfully  of  Brigham  Young.  Orders  were  issued 
to  save  his  soul;  but  before  his  tabernacle  could 
be  seized  by  those  who  would  have  saved  him,  the 
wretched  man  had  taken  his  one  wife  and  fled  to 
the  mountains.  There  they  wandered  many  days 
in  the  most  inclement  weather,  lost,  famished,  and 
several  times  but  narrowly  escaping  the  little  band 
that  had  been  sent  in  pursuit  of  them;  whose 
members  would,  had  they  been  permitted,  not  only 
have  terminated  their  bodily  suffering,  but  saved 
their  souls  to  a  worthy  place  in  the  life  to  come. 
As  it  was,  they  wandered  a  distance  of  three  hun 
dred  miles,  and  three  days  after  their  last  food  was 
eaten,  the  man  carrying  the  woman  in  his  arms  the 
last  six  miles,  they  reached  a  camp  of  the  Snake 
Indians.  These,  not  sharing  with  their  Utah 
brethren  the  prejudice  against  apostates,  gave  them 
a  friendly  welcome,  and  guided  them  to  Fort  Lara- 
mie,  thereby  destroying  for  the  unhappy  man  and 
his  wife  their  last  chance  of  coming  forth  in  the 
final  resurrection.  But  few  at  this  time  were  so 
unlucky  as  this  pair;  for  judgment  had  begun  at 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  Israel  was  attentively 
at  work. 

It  was  now  that  Joel  Rae  became  conscious  that 
he  was  facing  directly  away  from  the  glory  he  had 
so  long  sought  and  suffered  for.  Though  as  yet 
no  blood  for  Israel  had  been  shed  in  his  actual 
presence,  he  had  attended  the  meetings  of  the  Sons 
of  Dan,  and  was  kept  aware  of  their  operations. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         197 

It  seemed  to  him  in  after  years  that  his  faculties 
had  at  this  time  been  in  trance. 

He  was  seized  at  length  with  an  impulse  to  be 
away  from  it  all.  As  the  days  went  by  with  their 
tragedies,  he  became  half  wild  with  restlessness  and 
a  strange  fear  of  himself.  In  spite  of  his  lifelong 
training,  he  knew  there  was  wrong  in  the  air.  He 
could  not  question  the  decrees  of  the  priesthood, 
but  this  much  became  clear  to  him,  —  that  only  one 
thing  could  carry  with  it  more  possibilities  of  evil 
than  this  course  of  the  Church  toward  dissenters 
—  and  that  was  to  doubt  that  Brigham  Young's 
voice  was  as  the  voice  of  God.  Not  yet  could  he 
bring  himself  to  this.  But  the  unreasoning  desire 
to  be  away  became  so  strong  that  he  knew  he  must 
yield  to  it. 

Turning  this  in  his  mind  one  day  he  met  a  brother 
Elder,  a  man  full  of  zeal  who  had  lately  returned 
from  a  mission  abroad.  There  had  been,  he  said,  a 
great  outpouring  of  the  spirit  in  Wales. 

"  And  what  a  glorious  day  has  dawned  here,"  he 
continued.  "  Thank  God,  there  is  a  way  to  save 
the  souls  of  the  blind !  That  reminds  me  —  have 
you  heard  of  the  saving  work  Brother  Pixley  was 
obliged  to  do?" 

"Brother  Pixley?  —  no."  He  heard  his  own 
voice  tremble,  in  spite  of  his  effort  at  self-control. 
The  other  became  more  confidential,  stepping  closer 
and  speaking  low. 

"  Of  course,  it  ain't  to  be  talked  of  freely,  but 
you  have  a  right  to  know,  for  was  it  not  your  own 


198         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

preaching  that  led  to  this  glorious  reformation? 
You  see,  Brother  Pixley  came  back  with  me,  after 
doing  great  works  abroad.  Naturally,  he  came  full 
of  love  for  his  wives.  But  he  had  been  here  only 
a  few  days  when  he  became  convinced  that  one  of 
them  had  forgotten  him;  something  in  her  manner 
made  him  suspect  it,  for  she  was  a  woman  of  sin 
gularly  open,  almost  recklessly  open,  nature.  Then 
a  good  neighbour  came  and  told  him  that  one  night, 
while  on  his  way  for  the  doctor,  he  had  seen  this 
woman  take  leave  of  her  lover  —  had  seen  the  man, 
whom  he  could  not  recognise,  embrace  her  at  part 
ing.  He  taxed  her  with  this,  and  she  at  once  con 
fessed,  though  protesting  that  she  had  not  sinned, 
save  in  spirit.  You  can  imagine  his  grief,  Brother 
Rae,  for  he  had  loved  the  woman.  Well,  after 
taking  counsel  from  Brigham,  he  talked  the  matter 
over  with  her  very  calmly,  telling  her  that  unless 
her  blood  smoked  upon  the  ground,  she  would  be 
cast  aside  in  eternity.  She  really  had  spiritual  as 
pirations,  it  seems,  for  she  consented  to  meet  the 
ordeal.  Then,  of  course,  it  was  necessary  to  learn 
from  her  the  name  of  the  man  —  and  when  all  was 
ready  for  the  sacrifice,  Brother  Pixley  commanded 
her  to  make  it  known." 

"  Tell  me  which  of  Brother  Pixley's  wives  it 
was."  He  could  feel  the  little  cool  beads  of  sweat 
upon  his  forehead. 

"  The  fifth,  did  I  not  say?  But  to  his  amazement 
and  chagrin,  she  refused  to  give  him  the  name  of 
the  man,  and  he  had  no  way  of  learning  it  other- 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         199 

wise,  since  there  was  no  one  he  could  suspect.  He 
pointed  out  to  her  that  not  even  her  blood  could 
save  her  should  she  die  shielding  him.  But  she 
declared  that  he  was  a  good  man,  and  that  rather 
than  bring  disgrace  upon  him  she  would  die  — 
would  even  lose  her  soul;  that  in  truth  she  did  not 
care  to  live,  since  she  loved  him  so  that  living  away 
from  him  was  worse  than  death.  I  have  said  she 
was  a  woman  of  a  large  nature,  somewhat  reckless 
and  generous,  and  her  mistaken  notion  of  loyalty 
led  her  to  persist  in  spite  of  all  the  threats  and 
entreaties  of  her  distressed  husband.  She  even 
smiled  when  she  told  him  that  she  would  rather 
die  than  live  away  from  this  unknown  man,  smiled 
in  a  way  that  must  have  enraged  him  —  since  he 
had  never  won  that  kind  of  love  from  her  for  him 
self  —  for  then  he  let  her  meet  the  sacrifice  with 
out  further  talk.  He  drew  her  on  to  his  knee, 
kissed  her  for  the  last  time,  then  held  her  head 
back  —  and  the  thing  was  done.  How  sad  it  is 
that  she  did  not  make  a  full  confession.  Then,  by 
her  willing  sacrifice,  she  would  have  gone  direct 
to  the  circle  of  the  Gods  and  Goddesses;  but  now, 
dying  as  she  did,  her  soul  must  be  lost  —  " 

"  Which  wife  did  you  say  —  " 

"  The  fifth  —  she  that  was  Mara  Cavan  —  but, 
dear  me,  Brother  Rae!  you  should  not  be  out  so 
soon!  Why,  man,  you're  weak  as  a  cat!  Come, 
I'll  walk  with  you  as  far  as  your  house,  and  you 
must  lie  abed  again  until  you  are  stronger.  I  can 
understand  how  you  wished  to  be  up  as  soon  as 


200         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

possible ;  how  proud  you  must  feel  that  your  preach 
ing  has  led  to  this  glorious  awakening  and  made  it 
possible  to  save  the  souls  of  many  sinful  ones  — 
but  you  must  be  careful  not  to  overtax  yourself." 

Four  days  later,  a  white-faced  young  Elder  applied 
to  Brigham  for  permission  to  go  to  the  settlements 
on  the  south.  He  professed  to  be  sick,  to  have 
suffered  a  relapse  owing  to  incautious  exposure 
so  soon  after  his  long  illness.  He  seemed,  indeed, 
not  only  to  be  weak,  but  to  be  much  distressed  and 
torn  in  his  mind. 

Brigham  was  gracious  enough  to  accord  the  de 
sired  permission,  adding  that  the  young  Elder  could 
preach  the  revived  gospel  and  rebaptise  on  his  way 
south,  thus  combining  work  with  recreation.  He 
was  also  good  enough  to  volunteer  some  advice. 

"  What  ails  you  mostly,  Brother  Joel,  is  your 
single  state.  What  you  need  is  wives.  You've  been 
here  ten  years  now,  and  it's  high  time.  You're 
given  to  brooding  over  things  that  are  other  people's 
to  brood  on,  and  then,  you're  naturally  soul-proud. 
Now,  a  few  wives  will  humble  you  and  make  you 
more  reasonable,  like  the  rest  of  us.  I  don't  want 
to  be  too  downright  with  you,  like  I  am  with  some 
of  the  others,  because  I've  always  had  a  special  kind 
of  feeling  for  you,  and  so  I've  let  you  go  on.  But 
you  think  it  over,  and  talk  to  me  about  it  when 
you  come  back.  It's  high  time  you  was  building 
up  your  thrones  and  dominions  in  the  Kingdom." 

He  started  south  the  next  day,  riding  down  be 
tween  the  two  mountain  ranges  that  bordered  the 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         201 

valley,  stopping  at  each  settlement,  breathing  more 
freely,  resting  more  easily,  as  each  day  took  him 
farther  away.  Yet,  when  he  closed  his  eyes,  there, 
like  an  echo,  was  the  vision  of  a  woman's  face  with 
shining  eyes  and  lips,  —  a  vision  that  after  a  few 
seconds  was  washed  away  by  a  great  wave  of  blood. 

But  after  a  few  days,  certain  bits  of  news  caught 
up  with  him  that  happily  drove  this  thing  from  his 
sight  for  a  time  by  stirring  within  him  all  his  old 
dread  of  Gentile  persecution. 

First  he  heard  that  Parley  Pratt,  the  Archer  of 
Paradise  and  one  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  had  been 
foully  murdered  back  in  Arkansas  while  seeking  to 
carry  to  their  mother  the  children  of  his  ninth  wife. 
The  father  of  these  children,  so  his  informant  re 
ported,  had  waylaid  and  shot  him. 

Then  came  rumours  of  a  large  wagon-train  going 
south  through  Utah  on  its  way  to  California.  Re 
ports  said  it  was  composed  chiefly  of  Missourians, 
some  of  whom  were  said  to  be  boasting  that  they 
had  helped  to  expel  the  Saints  from  Jackson  County 
in  that  State.  Also  in  this  train  were  reported  to  be 
several  men  from  Arkansas  who  had  been  impli 
cated  in  the  assassination  of  Apostle  Pratt. 

But  news  of  the  crowning  infamy  reached  him 
the  following  day,  —  news  that  had  put  out  all 
thought  of  his  great  sin  and  his  bloody  secret,  news 
of  a  thing  so  monstrous  that  he  was  unable  to  give 
it  credence  until  it  had  been  confirmed  by  other 
comers  from  the  north.  President  Buchanan,  in 
spired  by  tales  that  had  reached  him  of  various 


202         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

deeds  growing  out  of  the  reformation,  and  by  the 
treatment  which  various  Federal  officers  were  said 
to  have  received,  had  decided  that  rebellion  existed 
in  the  Territory  of  Utah.  He  had  appointed  a 
successor  to  Brigham  Young  as  governor,  so  the 
report  ran,  and  ordered  an  army  to  march  to  Salt 
Lake  City  for  the  alleged  purpose  of  installing  the 
new  executive. 

Three  days  later  all  doubt  of  the  truth  of  this 
story  was  banished.  Word  then  came  that  Brigham 
was  about  to  declare  martial  law,  and  that  he  had 
promised  that  Buchanan's  army  should  never  enter 
the  valley. 

Now  his  heart  beat  high  again,  with  something 
of  the  old  swift  fervour.  The  Gentile  yoke  was  at 
last  to  be  thrown  off.  War  would  come,  and  the 
Lord  would  surely  hold  them  safe  while  they  melted 
away  the  Gentile  hosts. 

He  reached  the  settlement  of  Parowan  that  night, 
and  when  they  told  him  there  that  the  wagon-train 
coming  south  —  their  ancient  enemies  who  had 
plundered  and  butchered  them  in  Jackson  County 
—  was  to  be  cut  off  before  it  left  the  basin,  it  seemed 
but  right  to  him,  the  just  vengeance  of  Heaven  upon 
their  one-time  despoilers,  and  a  fitting  first  act  in 
the  war-drama  that  was  now  to  be  played. 

Once  more  the  mob  was  marching  upon  them  to 
despoil  and  murder  and  put  them  into  the  wilderness. 
But  now  God  had  nerved  and  strengthened  them  to 
defend  the  walls  of  Zion,  even  against  a  mighty 
nation.  And  as  a  token  of  His  favour  and  His 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         203 

wish,  here  was  a  company  of  their  bitterest  foes 
delivered  into  their  hands.  Beside  the  picture  was 
another;  he  saw  his  sister,  the  slight,  fair  girl,  in 
the  grasp  of  the  fiends  at  Haun's  Mill;  the  face 
of  his  father  tossing  on  the  muddy  current  and 
sucked  under  to  the  river-bottom;  and  the  rough 
bark  cylinder,  festooned  with  black  cloth,  holding 
the  worn  form  of  the  mother  whose  breast  had 
nursed  him. 

When  he  started  he  had  felt  that  he  could  never 
again  preach  while  that  secret  lay  upon  him,  —  that 
he  could  no  longer  rebuke  sinners  honestly,  —  but 
this  matter  of  war  was  different. 

He  preached  a  moving  sermon  that  day  from 
a  text  of  Samuel :  "  As  thy  sword  hath  made  women 
childless,  so  shall  thy  mother  be  childless  among 
women."  And  when  he  was  done  the  congregation 
had  made  the  little  dimly  lighted  meeting-house  at 
Parowan  ring  with  a  favourite  hymn  :  — 

"  Up,  awake,  ye  defenders  of  Zion  ! 

The  foe's  at  the  door  of  your  homes ; 
Let  each  heart  be  the  heart  of  a  lion, 

Unyielding  and  proud  as  he  roams. 
Remember  the  wrongs  of  Missouri, 

Remember  the  fate  of  Nauvoo ! 
When  the  God-hating  foe  is  before  ye, 

Stand  firm  and  be  faithful  and  true." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

The  Order  from  Headquarters 

HE  left  Parowan  the  next  morning  to  preach 
at  one  of  the  little  settlements  to  the  east. 
He  was  gone  three  days.  When  he  came 
back  they  told  him  that  the  train  of  Missourians 
had  passed  through  Parowan  and  on  to  the  south. 
He  attended  a  military  council  held  that  evening  in 
the  meeting-house.  Three  days  of  reflection,  while 
it  had  not  cooled  the  anger  he  felt  toward  these 
members  of  the  mob  that  had  so  brutally  wronged 
his  people,  had  slightly  cooled  his  ardour  for  ag 
gressive  warfare. 

It  was  rather  a  relief  to  know  that  he  was  not 
in  a  position  of  military  authority ;  to  feel  that  this 
matter  of  cutting  off  a  wagon-train  was  in  the 
hands  of  men  who  could  do  no  wrong.  The  men 
who  composed  the  council  he  knew  to  be  under  the 
immediate  guidance  of  the  Lord.  Their  names  and 
offices  made  this  certain.  There  was  George  A. 
Smith,  First  Counsellor  to  Brigham,  representing 
as  such  the  second  person  of  the  Trinity,  and  also 
one  of  the  Twelve  Apostles.  There  was  Isaac 

204 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         205 

Haight,  President  of  the  Cedar  City  Stake  of  Zion 
and  High  Priest  of  Southern  Utah;  there  were 
Colonel  Dame,  President  of  the  Parowan  Stake  of 
Zion,  Philip  Klingensmith,  Bishop  from  Cedar  City, 
and  John  Doyle  Lee,  Brigham's  most  trusted  lieu 
tenant  in  the  south,  a  major  of  militia,  probate 
judge,  member  of  the  Legislature,  President  of  Civil 
Affairs  at  Harmony,  and  farmer  to  the  Indians 
under  Brigham. 

When  a  call  to  arms  came  as  a  result  of  this 
council,  and  an  official  decree  was  made  known  that 
the  obnoxious  emigrant  train  was  to  be  cut  off,  he 
could  not  but  feel  that  the  deed  had  heavenly  sanc 
tion.  As  to  worldly  regularity,  the  proceeding 
seemed  to  be  equally  faultless.  The  call  was  a  reg 
ular  military  call  by  the  superior  officers  to  the 
subordinate  officers  and  privates  of  the  regiment, 
commanding  them  to  muster,  armed  and  equipped 
as  directed  by  law,  and  prepared  for  field  operations. 
Back  of  the  local  militia  officers  was  his  Excellency, 
Brigham  Young,  not  only  the  vicar  of  God  on  earth 
but  governor  of  Utah  and  commander-in-chief  of 
the  militia.  It  seemed,  indeed,  a  foretaste  of  those 
glorious  campaigns  long  promised  them,  when  they 
should  go  through  the  land  of  the  Gentiles  "  like 
a  lion  among  the  flocks  of  sheep,  cutting  down, 
breaking  in  pieces,  with  none  to  deliver,  leaving  the 
land  desolate." 

The  following  Tuesday  he  continued  south  to 
Cedar  City,  the  most  populous  of  the  southern  settle 
ments.  Here  he  learned  of  the  campaign's  progress. 


206         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

Brigham's  courier  had  preceded  the  train  on  its 
way  south,  bearing  written  orders  to  the  faithful  to 
hold  no  dealings  with  its  people ;  to  sell  them  neither 
forage  for  their  stock  nor  food  for  themselves. 
They  had,  it  was  reported,  been  much  distressed 
as  a  result  of  this  order,  and  their  stock  was  greatly 
weakened.  At  Cedar  City,  it  being  feared  that  they 
might  for  want  of  supplies  be  forced  to  halt  perma 
nently  so  near  the  settlement  that  it  would  be  in 
convenient  to  destroy  them,  they  were  permitted 
to  buy  fifty  bushels  of  wheat  and  to  have  it  and 
some  corn  the  Indians  had  sold  them  ground  at  the 
mill  of  Major  Lee. 

As  Joel's  informant,  the  fiery  Bishop  Klingen- 
smith,  remarked,  this  was  not  so  generous  as  it 
seemed,  since,  while  it  would  serve  to  decoy  them 
on  their  way  toward  San  Bernardino,  they  would 
never  get  out  of  the  valley  with  it.  The  train  had 
started  on,  but  the  animals  were  so  weak  that  three 
days  had  been  required  to  reach  Iron  Creek,  twenty 
miles  beyond,  and  two  more  days  to  reach  Mountain 
Meadows,  fifteen  miles  further  south. 

Here  at  daybreak  the  morning  before,  Klingen- 
smith  told  him,  a  band  of  Piede  Indians,  under  Lee's 
direction,  had  attacked  the  train,  killing  and  wound 
ing  a  number  of  the  men.  It  had  been  hoped,  ex 
plained  Klingensmith,  that  the  train  would  be  de 
stroyed  at  once  by  the  Indians,  thus  avoiding  any 
call  upon  the  militia;  but  the  emigrants  had  be 
haved  with  such  effectiveness  that  the  Indians  were 
unable  to  complete  the  task.  They  had  corralled 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         207 

their  wagons,  dug  a  rifle-pit  in  the  center,  and  re 
turned  the  fire,  killing  one  Indian  and  wounding 
two  of  the  chiefs.  The  siege  was  being  continued. 

The  misgiving  that  this  tale  caused  Joel  Rae  he 
put  down  to  unmanly  weakness  —  and  to  an  unfa- 
miliarity  with  military  affairs.  A  sight  of  the  order 
in  Brigham's  writing  for  the  train's  extermination 
would  have  set  his  mind  wholly  at  rest ;  but  though 
he  had  not  been  granted  this,  he  was  assured  that 
such  an  order  existed,  and  with  this  he  was  obliged 
to  be  content.  He  knew,  indeed,  that  an  order  from 
Brigham,  either  oral  or  written,  must  have  come; 
otherwise  the  local  authorities  would  never  have 
dared  to  proceed.  They  were  not  the  men  to  act 
without  orders  in  a  matter  so  grave  after  the  years 
in  which  Brigham  had  preached  his  right  to  dictate, 
direct,  and  control  the  affairs  of  his  people  from 
the  building  of  the  temple  "  down  to  the  ribbons 
a  woman  should  wear,  or  the  setting  up  of  a 
stocking." 

Late  on  the  following  day,  Wednesday,  while 
they  were  anxiously  waiting  for  news,  a  messenger 
from  Lee  came  with  a  call  for  reinforcements.  The 
Indians,  although  there  were  three  hundred  of  them, 
had  been  unable  to  prevail  over  the  little  entrenched 
band  of  Gentiles.  Ten  minutes  after  the  messen 
ger's  arrival,  the  militia,  which  had  been  waiting 
under  arms,  set  out  for  the  scene  in  wagons.  From 
Cedar  City  went  every  able-bodied  man  but  two. 

Joel  Rae  was  with  them,  wondering  why  he  went. 
He  wanted  not  to  go.  He  preferred  that  news  of 


208         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

the  approaching  victory  should  be  brought  to  him; 
yet  invisible  hands  had  forced  him,  even  while  it 
seemed  that  frenzied  voices  —  voices  without  sound 
—  warned  him  back. 

The  ride  was  long,  but  not  long  enough  for  his 
mind  to  clear.  It  was  still  clouded  with  doubts  and 
questionings  and  fears  when  they  at  last  saw  the 
flaring  of  many  fires  with  figures  loitering  or  moving 
busily  about  them.  As  they  came  nearer,  a  strange, 
rhythmic  throbbing  crept  to  his  ears ;  nearer  still,  he 
resolved  it  into  the  slow,  regular  beatings  of  a  flat- 
toned  drum.  The  measure,  deliberate,  incessant, 
changeless,  —  the  same  tones,  the  same  intervals,  — 
worked  upon  his  strained  nerves,  at  first  soothingly 
and  then  as  a  pleasant  stimulant. 

The  wagons  now  pulled  up  near  the  largest  camp 
fire,  and  the  arrivals  were  greeted  by  a  dozen  or 
so  of  the  Saints,  who,  with  Major  Lee,  had  been 
directing  and  helping  the  Indians  in  their  assaults 
upon  the  enemy.  Several  of  these  had  disguised 
themselves  as  Indians  for  the  better  deception  of 
the  besieged. 

At  the  right  of  their  camp  went  the  long  line 
of  the  Indians'  fires.  From  far  down  this  line  came 
a  low  ringing  chant  and  the  strangely  insistent 
drum-beats. 

"  They're  mourning  old  Chief  Moqueetus,"  ex 
plained  Lee.  "  He  fell  asleep  before  the  fire  just 
about  dark,  while  his  corn  and  potatoes  were  cook 
ing,  and  he  had  a  bad  nightmare.  The  old  fellow 
woke  up  screaming  that  he  had  his  double-hands 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         209 

full  of  blood,  and  he  grabbed  his  gun  and  was  up  on 
top  of  the  hill  firing  down  before  he  was  really 
awake,  I  guess.  Anyway,  one  of  the  cusses  got 
him  —  like  as  not  the  same  one  that  did  this  to-day 
while  I  was  peeking  at  them,"  and  he  showed  them 
a  bullet-hole  in  his  hat. 

At  fires  near  by  the  Indians  were  broiling  beef 
cut  from  animals  they  had  slaughtered  belonging 
to  the  wagon-train.  Still  others  were  cutting  the 
hides  into  strips  to  be  made  into  lariats.  As  far 
down  as  the  line  could  be  seen,  there  were  dusky 
figures  darting  in  and  out  of  the  firelight. 

A  council  was  at  once  called  of  the  Presidents, 
Bishops,  Elders,  High  Priests,  and  the  officers  of 
the  militia  who  were  present.  Bishop  Klingensmith 
bared  his  massive  head  in  the  firelight  and  opened 
the  council  with  prayer,  invoking  the  aid  of  God  to 
guide  them  aright.  Then  Major  Higbee,  presiding 
as  chairman,  announced  the  orders  under  which  they 
were  assembled  and  under  which  the  train  had  been 
attacked. 

"  It  is  ordered  from  headquarters  that  this  party 
must  be  used  up,  except  such  as  are  too  young  to 
tell  tales.  We  got  to  do  it.  They  been  acting 
terrible  mean  ever  since  we  wouldn't  sell  them  any 
thing.  If  we  let  them  go  on  now,  they  been  making 
their  brag  that  they'll  raise  a  force  in  California  and 
come  back  and  wipe  us  out  —  and  Johnston's  army 
already  marching  on  us  from  the  east.  Are  we  going 
to  submit  again  to  what  we  got  in  Missouri  and  in 
Illinois?  No!  Everybody  is  agreed  about  that 


210         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

Now  the  Indians  have  failed  to  do  it  like  we  thought 
they  would,  so  we  got  to  finish  it  up,  that's  all." 

Joel  Rae  spoke  for  the  first  time. 

"  You  say  except  such  as  are  too  young  to  tell 
tales,  Brother  Higbee ;  what  does  that  mean  ?  " 

"  Why,   all  but  the  very   smallest  children,   of 


course." 


"  Are  there  children  here?  " 

Lee  answered : 

"  Oh,  a  fair  sprinkling  —  about  what  you'd  look 
for  in  a  train  of  a  hundred  and  thirty  people.  The 
boys  got  two  of  the  kids  yesterday;  the  fools  had 
dressed  them  up  in  white  dresses  and  sent  them  out 
with  a  bucket  for  water.  You  can  see  their  bodies 
lying  over  there  this  side  of  the  spring." 

"And  there  are  women?"  he  asked,  feeling  a 
great  sickness  come  upon  him. 

"  Plenty  of  them,"  answered  Klingensmith, 
"  some  mighty  fine  women,  too ;  I  could  see  one 
yesterday,  a  monstrous  fine  figure  and  hair  shiny 
like  a  crow's  wing,  and  a  little  one,  powerful  pretty, 
and  one  kind  of  between  the  two  —  it's  a  shame 
we  can't  keep  some  of  them,  but  orders  is  orders !  " 

"  These  women  must  be  killed,  too  ?  " 

"  That's  the  orders  from  headquarters,  Brother 
Rae." 

"  From  the  military  headquarters  at  Parowan,  or 
from  the  spiritual  headquarters  at  Salt  Lake?" 

"  Better  not  inquire  how  far  back  that  order 
started,  Brother  Rae  —  not  of  me,  anyway." 

"  But  women  and  children  —  " 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         211 

''  The  great  Elohim  has  spoken  from  the  heavens, 
Brother  Rae  —  that's  enough  for  me.  I  can't  put 
my  human  standards  against  the  revealed  will  of 
God." 

"  But  women  and  children  —  "  He  repeated  the 
words  as  if  he  sought  to  comprehend  them.  He 
seemed  like  a  man  with  defective  sight  who  has 
come  suddenly  against  a  wall  that  he  had  thought 
far  off.  Higbee  now  addressed  him. 

"  Brother  Rae,  in  religion  you  have  to  eat  the 
bran  along  with  the  flour.  Did  you  suppose  we 
were  going  to  milk  the  Gentiles  and  not  ever  shed 
any  blood  ?  " 

"  But  innocent  blood  —  " 

"  There  ain't  a  drop  of  innocent  blood  in  the 
whole  damned  train.  And  what  are  you,  to  be  ques 
tioning  this  way  about  orders  from  on  high?  I've 
heard  you  preach  many  a  time  about  the  sin  of 
such  doings  as  that.  You  preach  in  the  pulpit  about 
stubborn  clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter  having  to 
be  put  through  the  mill  again,  and  now  that  you're 
out  here  in  the  field,  seems  to  me  you  get  limber  like 
a  tallowed  rag  when  an  order  comes  along." 

"  Defenseless  women  and  little  children  —  "  He 
was  still  trying  to  regain  his  lost  equilibrium.  Lee 
now  interposed. 

"  Yes,  Brother  Rae,  as  defenseless  as  that  pretty 
sister  of  yours  was  in  the  woods  there,  that  after 
noon  at  Haun's  Mill." 

The  reminder  silenced  him  for  the  moment.  When 
he  could  listen  again,  he  heard  them  canvassing  a 


212         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

plan  of  attack  that  should  succeed  without  endanger 
ing  any  of  their  own  numbers.  He  walked  away 
from  the  group  to  see  if  alone,  out  of  the  tumult 
and  torrent  of  lies  and  half-truths,  he  could  not 
fetch  some  one  great  unmistakable  truth  which  he 
felt  instinctively  was  there. 

And  then  his  ears  responded  again  to  the  slow 
chant  and  the  constant  measured  beat  of  the  flat- 
toned,  vibrant  drum.  Something  in  its  rhythm 
searched  and  penetrated  and  swayed  and  seemed  to 
overwhelm  him.  It  came  as  the  measured,  insistent 
beat  of  fate  itself,  relentless,  inexorable;  and  all 
the  time  it  was  stirring  in  him  vague,  latent  instincts 
of  savagery.  He  wished  it  would  stop,  so  that  he 
might  reason,  yet  dreaded  that  it  might  stop  at 
any  moment.  Fascinated  by  the  weird  rhythm  and 
the  hollow  beat,  he  could  not  summon  the  will  to 
go  beyond  its  sway. 

He  walked  about  the  fires  or  lingered  by  the 
groups  in  consultation  until  the  first  signs  of  dawn. 
Then  he  climbed  the  low,  rocky  hill  to  the  east  and 
peered  over  the  top,  the  drum-beats  still  pulsing 
through  him,  still  coercing  him.  As  the  light  grew, 
he  could  make  out  the  details  of  the  scene  below. 
He  was  looking  down  into  a  narrow  valley  running 
north  and  south,  formed  by  two  ranges  of  rugged, 
rocky  hills  five  hundred  yards  or  so  apart.  To  the 
north  this  valley  widened;  to  the  south  it  narrowed 
until  it  became  a  mere  gap  leading  out  into  the 
desert. 

Directly  below  him,  half-way  between  the  ranges 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         213 

of  hills,  was  a  circle  of  covered  wagons  wheel  to 
wheel.  In  the  center  of  this  a  pit  had  been  dug, 
and  here  the  besieged  were  finding  such  protection 
as  they  could  from  the  rifle-fire  that  came  down  from 
the  hills  on  either  side.  Even  now  he  could  see 
Indians  lying  in  watch  for  any  who  might  attempt 
to  escape.  The  camp  had  been  attacked  on  Monday 
morning  after  the  wagons  had  moved  a  hundred 
yards  away  from  the  spring.  It  was  now  Friday. 
For  four  days,  therefore,  with  only  what  water  they 
could  bring  by  dashes  to  the  spring  under  fire,  they 
had  held  their  own  in  the  pit. 

When  it  grew  still  lighter  he  descried,  out  on  his 
left  near  the  spring,  two  spots  of  white  close  to 
gether,  and  remembered  Lee's  tale  the  night  before 
of  the  two  little  girls  sent  for  water. 

At  that  instant,  the  chanting  and  the  beat  of  the 
drum  stopped,  and  in  the  silence  a  flood  of  light 
seemed  to  shine  in  upon  his  mind,  showing  him 
in  something  of  its  true  aspect  the  thing  they  were 
about  to  do.  Not  clearly  did  he  see  it,  for  he  was 
still  torn  and  dazed  —  and  not  in  its  real  propor 
tions,  moreover;  for  he  saw  it  against  the  back 
ground  of  his  teaching  from  the  cradle;  the  murder 
of  their  Prophet,  the  persecution  of  the  Saints,  the 
outrages  put  upon  his  own  family,  the  fate  of  his 
sister,  the  murder  of  his  father,  and  the  death  of 
his  mother ;  the  coming  of  an  army  upon  them  nowr 
to  repeat  these  persecutions ;  the  reported  offenses 
of  this  particular  lot  of  Gentiles.  And  then,  too,  he 
saw  it  against  his  own  flawless  faith  in  the  authority 


214         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

of  the  priesthood,  his  implicit  belief  that  whatsoever 
they  ordered  was  to  be  obeyed  as  the  literal  com 
mand  of  God,  his  unshaken  conviction  that  to  dis 
obey  the  priesthood  was  to  commit  the  unforgivable 
sin  of  blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost.  "  If  you 
trifle  with  the  commands  of  any  of  the  priesthood," 
he  himself  had  preached  but  a  few  days  before, 
"  you  are  trifling  with  Brigham ;  if  you  trifle  with 
Brigham,  you  are  trifling  with  God ;  and  if  you  do 
that,  you  will  trifle  yourselves  down  to  hell." 

Yet  as  he  looked  upon  the  doomed  camp,  lying 
still  and  quiet  in  the  gray  light,  —  in  spite  of  breed 
ing,  training,  habit  of  thought,  and  passionate  belief, 
he  felt  the  horror  of  it,  and  a  hope  came  to  him 
out  of  that  horror.  He  hurried  down  the  hill  and 
searched  among  the  groups  of  Indians  until  he 
found  Lee. 

"  Major,  isn't  there  a  chance  that  Brother  Brig- 
ham  didn't  order  this?" 

"  Brother  Rae,  no  one  has  said  he  did  —  it 
wouldn't  be  just  wise." 

"  But  did  he  —  has  any  one  seen  the  written  order 
or  heard  who  brought  the  oral  order  ?  " 

"  Brother  Rae,  look  here,  now  —  you  know 
Brother  Brigham.  You  know  his  authority,  and 
you  know  Dame  and  Haight.  You  know  they 
wouldn't  either  of  them  dare  do  as  much  as  take 
another  wife  without  asking  Brigham  first.  Well, 
then,  do  you  reckon  they'd  dare  order  this  militia 
around  in  this  reckless  way  to  cut  off  a  hundred  and 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         215 

thirty  people  unless  they  had  mighty  good  reason 
to  know  he  wanted  it?  " 

He  stood  before  Lee  with  bent  head ;  the  hope  had 
died.  Lee  went  on  : 

"  And  look  here,  Elder,  just  as  a  friendly  hint,  I 
wouldn't  do  any  more  of  this  sentimental  talk. 
Why,  in  the  last  six  months  I've  known  men  to  get 
blood-atoned  for  less  than  you've  said." 

He  saw  they  were  holding  another  council. 
Bishop  Klingensmith  again  led  in  prayer.  He  prayed 
for  revelation,  for  the  gifts  of  the  spirit  for  each 
of  them,  and  for  every  order  of  the  priesthood; 
that  they  might  prevail  over  the  army  marching 
against  them;  that  Israel  might  grow  and  multiply 
and  cover  the  earth  with  cities  and  become  a  people 
so  great  that  no  man  could  number  them;  and  that 
the  especial  favour  of  Heaven  might  attend  them 
on  their  righteous  smiting  of  the  Gentile  host  now 
delivered  over  to  them  by  an  all-wise  Jehovah. 

The  plan  of  assault  was  now  again  rehearsed, 
and  its  details  communicated  to  their  Indian  allies. 
By  ten  o'clock  all  was  ready. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

The  Meadow  Shambles 

THEY  chose  William  Bateman  to  go  forward 
with  a  flag  of  truce.  He  was  short  and  plump, 
with  a  full,  round,  ingenuous  face.  He  was 
chosen,  so  said  Klingensmith,  for  his  plausible  ways. 
He  could  look  right  at  you  when  he  said  anything; 
and  the  moment  needed  a  man  of  this  talent.  He 
was  to  enter  the  camp  and  say  to  the  people  that  the 
Mormons  had  come  to  save  them ;  that  on  giving  up 
their  arms  they  would  be  safely  conducted  to  Cedar 
City,  there  to  await  a  proper  time  for  continuing 
their  journey. 

From  the  hill  to  the  west  of  the  besieged  camp 
they  watched  the  plausible  Bateman  with  his  flag 
of  truce  meet  one  of  the  emigrants  who  came  out, 
also  with  a  white  flag,  and  saw  them  stand  talking 
a  little  time.  Bateman  then  came  back  around  the 
end  of  the  hill  that  separated  the  two  camps.  His 
proposal  had  been  gratefully  accepted.  The  be 
sieged  emigrants  were  in  desperate  straits;  their 
dead  were  unburied  in  the  narrow  enclosure,  and 
they  were  suffering  greatly  for  want  of  water. 

216 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         217 

Major  Higbee,  in  command  of  the  militia,  now 
directed  Lee  to  enter  the  camp  and  see  that  the 
plan  was  carried  out.  With  him  went  two  men 
with  wagons.  Lee  was  to  have  them  load  their 
weapons  into  one  wagon,  to  separate  the  adults  from 
the  children  and  wounded,  who  were  to  be  put  into 
the  other,  and  then  march  the  party  out. 

As  Lee  approached  the  corral  its  occupants 
swarmed  out  to  meet  him,  —  gaunt  men,  unkempt 
women  and  children,  with  the  look  of  hunted  ani 
mals  in  their  eyes.  Some  of  the  men  cheered  feebly ; 
some  were  silent  and  plainly  distrustful.  But  the 
women  laughed  and  wept  for  joy  as  they  crowded 
about  their  deliverer ;  and  wide-eyed  children  stared 
at  him  in  a  friendly  way,  understanding  but  little 
of  it  all  except  that  the  newcomer  was  a  desirable 
person. 

It  took  Lee  but  a  little  time  to  overcome  the 
hesitation  of  the  few  suspicious  ones.  The  plan  he 
proposed  was  too  plainly  their  only  way  of  escape 
from  a  terrible  death.  Their  animals  had  been  shot 
down  or  run  off  so  that  they  could  neither  advance 
nor  retreat.  Their  ammunition  was  almost  gone, 
so  that  they  could  not  give  battle.  And,  lastly, 
their  provisions  were  low,  with  no  chance  to  re 
plenish  them;  for  on  the  south  was  the  most  to 
be  dreaded  of  all  American  deserts,  while  on  the 
north  they  had  for  some  reason  unknown  to  them 
selves  been  unable  to  buy  of  the  abundance  through 
which  they  passed. 

Arrangements   for   the  departure   were  quickly 


218         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

completed  under  Lee's  supervision.  In  one  wagon 
were  piled  the  guns  and  pistols  of  the  emigrants, 
together  with  half  a  dozen  men  who  had  been 
wounded  in  the  four  days'  fighting.  In  the  other 
wagon  a  score  of  the  smaller  children  were  placed, 
some  with  tear-stained  faces,  some  crying,  and  some 
gravely  apprehensive.  At  Lee's  command  the  two 
wagons  moved  forward.  After  these  the  women 
followed,  marching  singly  or  in  pairs;  some  with 
little  bundles  of  their  most  precious  belongings; 
some  carrying  babes  too  young  to  be  sent  ahead 
in  the  wagon.  A  few  had  kept  even  their  older 
children  to  walk  beside  them,  fearing  some  evil  — 
they  knew  not  what. 

One  such,  a  young  woman  near  the  last  of  the 
line,  was  leading  by  the  hand  a  little  girl  of  three 
or  four,  while  on  her  left  there  marched  a  sturdy, 
pink-faced  boy  of  seven  or  eight,  whose  almost  white 
hair  and  eyebrows  gave  him  a  look  of  fright  which 
his  demeanour  belied.  The  woman,  looking  anx 
iously  back  over  her  shoulder  to  the  line  of  men, 
spoke  warningly  to  the  boy  as  the  line  moved  slowly 
forward. 

"  Take  her  other  hand,  and  stay  close.  I'm 
afraid  something  will  happen  —  that  man  who  came 
is  not  an  honest  man.  I  tried  to  tell  them,  but  they 
wouldn't  believe  me.  Keep  her  hand  in  yours,  and 
if  anything  does  happen,  run  right  back  there  and 
try  to  find  her  father.  Remember  now,  just  as  if 
she  were  your  own  little  sister." 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         219 

The  boy  answered  stoutly,  with  shrewd  glances 
about  for  possible  danger. 

"  Of  course  I'll  stay  by  her.  I  wouldn't  run  away. 
If  I'd  only  had  a  gun,"  he  continued,  in  tones  of 
regretful  enthusiasm,  "  I  know  I  could  have  shot 
some  of  those  Indians  —  but  these,  what  do  you 
call  them  ?  —  Mormons  —  they'll  keep  the  Indians 
away  now." 

"  But  remember  —  don't  leave  my  child,  for  I'm 
afraid  —  something  warns  me." 

Farther  back  the  others  had  now  fallen  in,  so  that 
the  whole  company  was  in  motion.  The  two  wagons 
were  in  the  lead ;  then  came  the  women ;  and  some 
distance  back  of  these  trailed  the  line  of  men. 

When  the  latter  reached  the  place  where  the 
column  of  militia  stood  drawn  up  in  line  by  the 
roadside,  they  swung  their  hats  and  cheered  their 
deliverers ;  again  and  again  the  cheers  rang  in  tones 
that  were  full  of  gratitude.  As  they  passed  on,  an 
armed  Mormon  stepped  to  the  side  of  each  man 
and  walked  with  him,  thus  convincing  the  last 
doubter  of  their  sincerity  in  wishing  to  guard  them 
from  any  unexpected  attack  by  the  Indians. 

In  such  fashion  marched  the  long,  loosely  ex 
tended  line  until  the  rear  had  gone  some  two  hun 
dred  yards  away  from  the  circle  of  wagons.  At 
the  head,  the  two  wagons  containing  the  children 
and  wounded  had  now  fallen  out  of  sight  over  a 
gentle  rise  to  the  north.  The  women  also  were  well 
ahead,  passing  at  that  moment  through  a  lane  of 
low  cedars  that  grew  close  to  the  road  on  either  side. 


220         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

The  men  were  now  stepping  briskly,  sure  at  last  of 
the  honesty  of  their  rescuers. 

Then,  while  all  promised  fair,  a  call  came  from 
the  head  of  the  line  of  men,  —  a  clear,  high  call  of 
command  that  rang  to  the  very  rear  of  the  column : 

"  Israel,  do  your  duty ! " 

Before  the  faces  of  the  marching  men  had  even 
shown  surprise  or  questioning,  each  Mormon  had 
turned  and  shot  the  man  who  walked  beside  him. 
The  same  instant  brought  piercing  screams  from 
the  column  of  women  ahead;  for  the  signal  had 
been  given  while  they  were  in  the  lane  of  cedars 
where  the  Indian  allies  of  the  Saints  had  been 
ambushed.  Shots  and  screams  echoed  and  reechoed 
across  the  narrow  valley,  and  clouds  of  smoke,  pearl 
gray  in  the  morning  sun,  floated  near  the  ground. 

The  plan  of  attack  had  been  well  laid  for  quick 
success.  Most  of  the  men  had  fallen  at  the  first 
volley,  either  killed  or  wounded.  Here  and  there 
along  the  all  but  prostrate  line  would  be  seen  a 
struggling  pair,  or  one  of  the  emigrants  running 
toward  cover  under  a  fire  that  always  brought  him 
low  before  he  reached  it. 

On  the  women,  too,  the  quick  attack  had  been 
almost  instantly  successful.  The  first  great  volume 
of  mad  shrieks  had  quickly  died  low  as  if  the  vic 
tims  were  being  smothered ;  and  now  could  be  heard 
only  the  single  scream  of  some  woman  caught  in 
flight,  —  short,  despairing  screams,  and  others  that 
seemed  to  be  cut  short  —  strangled  at  their  height. 

Joel  Rae  found  himself  on  the  line  after  the  first 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         221 

volley,  drawn  by  some  dread  power  he  could  not 
resist.  Yet  one  look  had  been  enough.  He  shut 
his  eyes  to  the  writhing  forms,  the  jets  of  flame 
spitting  through  the  fog  of  smoke,  and  turned  to 
flee. 

Then  in  an  instant  —  how  it  had  come  about  he 
never  knew  —  he  was  struggling  with  a  man  who 
shouted  his  name  and  cursed  him,  —  a  dark  man 
with  blood  streaming  from  a  wound  in  his  throat. 
He  defended  himself  easily,  feeling  his  assailant's 
strength  already  waning.  Time  after  time  the  man 
called  him  by  name  and  cursed  him,  now  in  low 
tones,  as  they  swayed.  Then  the  Saint  whose  al 
lotted  victim  this  man  had  been,  having  reloaded 
his  pistol,  ran  up,  held  it  close  to  his  head,  fired, 
and  ran  back  to  the  line. 

He  felt  the  man's  grasp  of  his  shoulders  relax, 
and  his  body  grow  suddenly  limp,  as  if  boneless. 
He  let  it  down  to  the  ground,  looking  at  last  full 
upon  the  face.  At  first  glance  it  told  him  nothing. 
Then  a  faint  sense  of  its  familiarity  pushed  up 
through  many  old  memories.  Sometime,  some 
where,  he  had  known  the  face. 

The  dying  man  opened  his  eyes  wide,  not  seeing, 
but  convulsively,  and  then  he  felt  himself  en 
lightened  by  something  in  their  dark  colour,  — 
something  in  the  line  of  the  brow  under  the  black 
hair ;  —  a  face  was  brought  back  to  him,  the  hand 
some  face  of  the  jaunty  militia  captain  at  Nauvoo, 
the  man  who  had  helped  expel  his  people,  who  had 


222         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

patronised  them  with  his  airs  of  protector,  —  the 
man  who  had  — 

It  did  not  come  to  him  until  that  instant  —  this 
man  was  Girnway.  In  the  flash  of  awful  compre 
hension  he  dropped,  a  sickened  and  nerveless  heap, 
beside  the  dead  man,  turning  his  head  on  the 
ground,  and  feeling  for  any  sign  of  life  at  his  heart. 

Forward  there,  where  the  yells  of  the  Indians  had 
all  but  replaced  the  screams  of  frantic  women  — 
butchered  already  perhaps,  subjected  to  he  knew 
not  what  infamy  at  the  hands  of  savage  or  Saint  — 
was  the  yellow-haired,  pink-faced  girl  he  had  loved 
and  kept  so  long  imaged  in  his  heart;  yet  she 
might  have  escaped,  she  might  still  live  —  she  might 
even  not  have  been  in  the  party. 

He  sprang  up  and  found  himself  facing  a  white- 
haired  boy,  who  held  a  little  crying  girl  by  a  tight 
grasp  of  her  arm,  and  who  eyed  him  aggressively. 

"  What  did  you  hurt  Prudence's  father  for?  He 
was  a  good  man.  Did  you  shoot  him?" 

He  seized  the  boy  roughly  by  the  shoulder. 

"  Prudence  —  Prudence  —  where  is  she?  " 

"  Here." 

He  looked  down  at  the  little  girl,  who  still  cried. 
Even  in  that  glance  he  saw  her  mother's  prettiness, 
her  pink  and  white  daintiness,  and  the  yellow  shine 
of  her  hair. 

"  Her  mother,  then,  —  quick !  " 

The  boy  pointed  ahead. 

"  Up  there  —  she  told  me  to  take  care  of  Pru 
dence,  and  when  the  Indians  came  out  she  made  me 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         223 

run  back  here  to  look  for  him."  He  pointed  to  the 
still  figure  on  the  ground  before  them.  And  then, 
making  a  brave  effort  to  keep  back  the  tears : 

"If  I  had  a  gun  I'd  shoot  some  Indians;  —  I'd 
shoot  you,  too  —  you  killed  him.  When  I  grow 
up  to  be  a  man,  I'll  have  a  gun  and  come  here  —  " 

He  had  the  child  in  his  arms,  and  called  to  the 
boy: 

"  Come,  fast  now !  Go  as  near  as  you  can  to  where 
you  left  her." 

They  ran  forward  through  the  gray  smoke,  step 
ping  over  and  around  bodies  as  they  went.  When 
they  reached  the  first  of  the  women  he  would  have 
stopped  to  search,  but  the  boy  led  him  on,  pointing. 
And  then,  half-way  up  the  line,  a  little  to  the  right 
of  the  road,  at  the  edge  of  the  cedars,  his  eye  caught 
the  glimpse  of  a  great  mass  of  yellow  hair  on  the 
ground.  She  seemed  to  have  been  only  wounded, 
for,  as  he  looked,  she  was  up  on  her  knees  striving 
to  stand. 

He  ran  faster,  leaving  the  boy  behind  now,  but 
while  he  was  still  far  off,  he  saw  an  Indian,  knife 
in  hand,  run  to  her  and  strike  her  down.  Then 
before  he  had  divined  the  intent,  the  savage  had 
gathered  the  long  hair  into  his  left  hand,  made  a 
swift  circling  of  the  knife  with  his  right,  —  and  the 
thing  was  done  before  his  eyes.  He  screamed  in 
terror  as  he  ran,  and  now  he  was  near  enough  to 
be  heard.  The  Indian  at  his  cry  arose  and  for 
one  long  second  shook,  almost  in  his  face  as  he  came 
running  up,  the  long,  shining,  yellow  hair  with  the 


224         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

gory  patch  at  the  end.  Before  his  staring  eyes,  the 
hair  was  twisting,  writhing,  and  undulating,  — 
like  a  golden  flame  licking  the  bronzed  arm  that 
held  it.  And  then,  as  he  reached  the  spot,  the  In 
dian,  with  a  long  yell  of  delight  and  a  final  flourish 
of  his  trophy,  ran  off  to  other  prizes. 

He  stood  a  moment,  breathless  and  faint,  looking 
with  fearful  eyes  down  at  the  little,  limp,  still  figure 
at  his  feet.  One  slender,  bare  arm  was  flung  out 
as  if  she  had  grasped  at  the  whole  big  earth  in  her 
last  agony. 

The  spell  of  fear  was  broken  by  the  boy,  who 
came  trotting  up.  He  had  given  way  to  his  tears 
now,  and  was  crying  loudly  from  fright.  Joel  made 
him  take  the  little  girl  and  sit  under  a  cedar  out  of 
sight  of  the  spot. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

In  the  Dark   of  the  Aftermath 

HE  was  never  able  to  recall  the  events  of  that 
day,  or  of  the  months   following,  in  any 
thing  like  their  proper  sequence.    The  effort 
to  do  so  brought  a  pain  shooting  through  his  head. 
Up  to  the  moment  when  the  yellow  hair  had  waved 
in  his  face,  everything  had  kept  a  ghastly  distinct 
ness.  He  remembered  each  instant  and  each  emotion. 
After  that  all  was  dark  confusion,  with  only  here 
and  there  a  detached,  inconsequent  memory  of  ap 
palling  vividness. 

He  could  remember  that  he  had  buried  her  on 
the  other  side  of  the  hill  where  a  gnarled  cedar  grew 
at  the  foot  of  a  ledge  of  sandstone,  using  a  spade 
that  an  Indian  had  brought  him  from  the  deserted 
camp.  By  her  side  he  had  found  the  scattered  con 
tents  of  the  little  bundle  she  had  carried,  —  a  small 
Bible,  a  locket,  a  worn  gold  bracelet,  and  a  picture  of 
herself  as  he  had  known  her,  a  half- faded  daguerre 
otype  set  in  a  gilt  oval,  in  a  square  rubber  case 
that  shut  with  a  snap.  The  little  limp-backed  Bible 
had  lain  flung  open  on  the  ground  in  the  midst  of 

225 


226         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

the  other  trinkets.  He  remembered  picking  these 
things  up  and  retying  them  in  the  blue  silk  hand 
kerchief,  and  then  he  had  twice  driven  away  an 
Indian  who,  finding  no  other  life,  came  up  to  kill 
the  two  children  huddled  at  the  foot  of  the  cedar. 

He  recalled  that  he  had  at  some  time  passed  the 
two  wagons ;  one  of  them  was  full  of  children, 
some  crying,  some  strangely  quiet  and  observant. 
The  other  contained  the  wounded  men  whom  Lee 
and  the  two  drivers  had  dispatched  where  they  lay. 

He  remembered  the  scene  close  about  him  where 
many  of  the  women  and  older  children  had  fallen 
under  knife  and  tomahawk.  At  intervals  had  come 
a  long-drawn  scream,  terrifying  in  its  shrillness, 
from  some  woman  struggling  with  Saint  or  savage. 

Later  he  remembered  becoming  aware  that  the 
bodies  were  being  stripped  and  plundered;  of  see 
ing  Lee  holding  his  big  white  hat  for  valuables, 
while  half  a  dozen  men  searched  pockets  and 
stripped  off  clothing.  The  picture  of  the  naked 
bodies  of  a  dozen  well-grown  children  tangled  in 
one  heap  stayed  with  him. 

Still  later,  when  the  last  body  had  been  stripped 
and  the  smaller  treasures  collected,  he  had  known 
that  these  and  the  stock  and  wagons  were  being 
divided  between  the  Mormons  and  the  Indians;  a 
conflict  with  these  allies  being  barely  averted,  the 
Indians  accusing  the  Saints  of  withholding  more 
than  their  share  of  the  plunder. 

After  the  division  was  made  he  knew  that  the 
Saints  had  all  been  called  together  to  take  an  oath 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         227 

that  the  thing  should  be  kept  secret.  He  knew,  too, 
that  he  had  gone  over  the  spot  that  night,  the  moon 
lighting  the  naked  forms  strewn  about.  Many  of 
them  lay  in  attitudes  strangely  lifelike,  —  here  one 
resting  its  head  upon  its  arm,  there  a  white  face 
falling  easily  back  as  if  it  looked  up  at  the  stars. 
He  could  not  recall  why  he  had  gone  back,  unless  to 
be  sure  that  he  had  made  the  grave  under  the  cedar 
secure  from  the  wolves. 

Some  of  the  men  had  camped  on  the  spot.  Others 
had  gone  to  Hamblin's  ranch,  near  the  Meadows, 
where  the  children  were  taken.  He  had  sent  the 
boy  there  with  them,  and  he  could  recall  distinctly 
the  struggle  he  had  with  the  little  fellow;  for  the 
boy  had  wished  not  to  be  taken  from  the  girl,  and 
had  fought  valiantly  with  fists  and  feet  and  his 
sharp  little  teeth.  The  little  girl  with  her  mother's 
bundle  he  had  taken  to  another  ranch  farther  south 
in  the  Pine  Mountains.  He  told  the  woman  the 
child  was  his  own,  and  that  she  was  to  be  kept  until 
he  came  again. 

Where  he  slept  that  night,  or  whether  he  slept 
at  all,  he  never  knew.  But  he  had  been  back  on  the 
ground  in  the  morning  with  the  others  who  came  to 
bury  the  naked  bodies.  He  had  seen  heaps  of 
them  piled  in  little  depressions  and  the  dirt  thrown 
loosely  over  them,  and  he  remembered  that  the 
wolves  were  at  them  all  a  day  later. 

Then  Dame  and  Haight  and  others  of  high 
standing  in  the  Church  had  come  to  look  over  the 
spot  and  there  another  oath  of  secrecy  was  taken. 


228         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

Any  informer  was  to  be  "  sent  over  the  rim  of  the 
basin  "  —  except  that  one  of  their  number  was  to 
make  a  full  report  to  the  President  at  Salt  Lake 
City.  Klingensmith  was  then  chosen  by  vote  to  take 
charge  of  the  goods  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church. 
Klingensmith,  Haight,  and  Higbee,  he  recalled,  had 
later  driven  two  hundred  head  of  the  cattle  to  Salt 
Lake  City  and  sold  them.  Klingensmith,  too,  had 
put  the  clothing  taken  from  the  bodies,  blood-stained, 
shredded  by  bullets  and  knives,  into  the  cellar  of 
the  tithing  office  at  Cedar  City.  Here  there  had 
been,  a  few  weeks  later,  a  public  auction  of  the 
property  taken,  the  Bishop,  who  presided  as  auc 
tioneer,  facetiously  styling  it  "  plunder  taken  at  the 
siege  of  Sebastopol."  The  clothing,  however,  with 
the  telltale  marks  upon  it,  was  reserved  from  the 
auction  and  sold  privately  from  the  tithing  office. 
Many  stout  wagons  and  valuable  pieces  of  equip 
ment  had  thus  been  cheaply  secured  by  the  Saints 
round  about  Cedar  City. 

He  knew  that  the  surviving  children,  seventeen 
in  number,  had  been  "  sold  out  "  to  Saints  in  and 
about  Cedar  City,  Harmony,  and  Painter's  Creek, 
who  would  later  present  bills  for  their  keep. 

He  knew  that  Lee,  whom  the  Bishops  had  prom 
ised  a  crown  of  glory  for  his  work  that  day,  had 
gone  to  Salt  Lake  City  and  made  a  confidential  re 
port  to  Brigham ;  that  Brigham  had  at  first  professed 
to  regard  the  occurrence  as  unfortunate  for  the 
Church,  though  admitting  that  no  innocent  blood 
had  been  shed ;  that  he  had  sworn  Lee  never  to  tell 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         229 

the  story  again  to  any  person,  instructing  him  to 
make  a  written  report  of  the  affair  to  himself,  as 
Indian  agent,  charging  the  deed  to  the  Indians. 
He  was  said  to  have  added  on  this  point,  after  a 
period  of  reflection,  "  Only  Indians,  John,  don't 
save  even  the  little  children."  He  was  reported 
to  have  told  Lee  further,  on  the  following  day,  that 
he  had  asked  God  to  take  the  vision  from  his  sight 
if  the  killing  had  been  a  righteous  thing,  and 
that  God  had  done  so,  thus  proving  the  deed  in 
the  sight  of  heaven  to  have  been  a  just  vengeance 
upon  those  who  had  once  made  war  upon  the  Saints 
in  Missouri. 

With  these  and  with  many  another  disjointed 
memory  of  the  day  Joel  Rae  was  cursed;  of  how 
Hamblin  the  following  spring  had  gathered  a  hun 
dred  and  twenty  skulls  on  the  ground  where  the 
wolves  had  left  them,  and  buried  them  again;  of 
how  an  officer  from  Camp  Floyd  had  built  a  cairn 
on  the  spot  and  erected  a  huge  cross  to  the  memory 
of  the  slain ;  of  how  the  thing  became  so  dire  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  had  done  it,  that  more  than  one 
man  lost  his  reason,  and  two  were  known  to  have 
killed  themselves  to  be  rid  of  the  death-cries  of 
women. 

But  the  clearest  of  all  among  the  memories  of 
the  day  itself  was  the  prayer  offered  up  as  they  stood 
amid  the  heaps  of  fresh  earth,  after  they  had  sworn 
the  oath  of  secrecy;  how  God  had  been  thanked 
for  delivering  the  enemy  into  their  hands,  and  how 


230         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

new  faith  and  better  works  were  promised  to  Him 
for  this  proof  of  His  favour. 

The  memory  of  this  prayer  stayed  with  him  many 
years  :  "  Bless  Brother  Brigham  —  bless  him ; 
may  the  heavens  be  opened  unto  him,  and  angels 
visit  and  instruct  him.  Clothe  him  with  power  to 
defend  Thy  people  and  to  overthrow  all  who  may 
rise  against  us.  Bless  him  in  his  basket  and  in  his 
store;  multiply  and  increase  him  in  wives,  children, 
flocks  and  herds,  houses  and  lands.  Make  him  very 
great  to  be  a  lawgiver  and  God  to  Thy  people,  and 
to  command  them  in  all  things  whatsoever  in  the 
future  as  in  the  past." 

Nor  did  he  forget  that,  soon  after  he  had  listened 
to  this  prayer,  and  the  forces  had  dispersed,  he  had 
made  two  discoveries;  —  first,  that  his  hair  was 
whitening;  second,  that  he  could  not  be  alone  at 
night  and  keep  his  reason. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

The  Hast  of  Israel  Goes  forth  to  Battle 

HE  went  north  in  answer  to  the  call  for  soldiers. 
He  went  gladly.  It  promised  activity  —  and 
company. 

A  score  of  them  left  Cedar  City  with  much  war 
like  talk,  with  many  ringing  prophecies  of  confusion 
to  the  army  now  marching  against  them,  and  to  the 
man  who  had  sent  it.  They  cited  Fremont,  Presi 
dential  candidate  of  the  newly  organised  Republican 
party  the  year  before,  with  his  catch  phrase,  "  The 
abolition  of  slavery  and  polygamy,  the  twin  relics  of 
barbarism."  Fremont  had  been  defeated.  And 
there  was  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  once  their  staunch 
friend  and  advocate  in  Illinois ;  but  the  year  before 
he  had  turned  against  them,  styling  polygamy  "  the 
loathsome  ulcer  of  the  body  politic,"  asserting  that 
the  people  of  Utah  were  bound  by  oath  to  recog 
nise  only  the  authority  of  Brigham  Young;  that 
they  were  forming  alliances  with  Indians  and 
organising  Danite  bands  to  rob  and  murder  Ameri 
can  citizens ;  and  urging  a  rigid  investigation  into 
these  enormities.  For  this  slander  Brigham  had 

231 


232         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

hurled  upon  him  the  anathema  of  the  priesthood,  in 
consequence  of  which  Douglas  had  failed  to  secure 
even  a  nomination  for  the  high  office  which  he 
sought. 

And  now  Buchanan  was  in  a  way  to  draw  upon 
himself  that  retribution  which  must  ever  descend 
upon  the  foes  of  Israel.  Brigham  was  at  last  to 
unleash  the  dogs  of  war.  They  recalled  his  saying 
when  they  came  into  the  valley,  "If  they  will  let  us 
alone  for  ten  years,  we  will  ask  no  odds  of  Uncle 
Sam  or  the  Devil."  The  ten  years  had  passed  and 
the  Devil  was  taking  them  at  their  word.  One  of 
them  recalled  the  prophecy  of  another  inspired 
leader,  Parley  Pratt,  the  Archer  of  Paradise: 
"  Within  ten  years  from  now  the  people  of  this 
country  who  are  not  Mormons  will  be  entirely  sub 
dued  by  the  Latter-day  Saints  or  swept  from  the 
face  of  the  earth;  and  if  this  prophecy  fails,  then 
you  may  know  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  not  true.'* 

Their  great  day  was  surely  at  hand.  Their  God 
of  Battles  reigned.  All  through  the  Territory  the 
leaders  preached,  prayed,  and  taught  nothing  but 
war;  the  poets  made  songs  only  of  war;  and  the 
people  sang  only  these.  Public  works  and  private 
were  alike  suspended,  save  the  manufacture  of  new 
arms,  the  repairing  of  old,  and  the  sharpening  of 
sabers  and  bayonets. 

On  the  way,  to  fire  their  ardour,  they  were  met 
by  Brigham's  proclamation.  It  recited  that  "for 
the  last  twenty-five  years  we  have  trusted  officials 
of  the  government  from  constables  and  justices  to 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         233 

judges,  governors,  and  presidents,  only  to  be 
scorned,  held  in  derision,  insulted,  and  betrayed. 
Our  houses  have  been  plundered  and  burned,  our 
fields  laid  waste,  our  chief  men  butchered  while  un 
der  the  pledged  faith  of  the  government  for  their 
safety ;  and  our  families  driven  from  their  homes  to 
find  that  shelter  in  the  wilderness  and  that  protection 
among  hostile  savages  which  were  denied  them 
in  the  boasted  abodes  of  Christianity  and  civilisa 
tion."  It  concluded  by  forbidding  all  armed  forces 
of  every  description  to  enter  the  Territory  under 
any  pretence  whatever,  and  declaring  martial  law 
to  exist  until  further  notice.  The  little  band  hurried 
on,  eager  to  be  at  the  front. 

The  day  he  reached  Salt  Lake  City,  Joel  Rae 
was  made  major  of  militia.  The  following  day, 
he  attended  the  meeting  at  the  tabernacle.  He 
needed,  for  reasons  he  did  not  fully  explain  to  him 
self,  to  receive  fresh  assurance  of  Brigham's  in 
fallibility,  of  his  touch  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  of 
his  goodness  as  well  as  his  might;  to  be  caught 
once  more  by  the  compelling  magnetism  of  his 
presence,  the  flash  of  his  eye,  and  the  inciting  tones 
of  his  voice.  All  this  he  found. 

"  Is  there,"  asked  Brigham,  "  a  collision  between 
us  and  the  United  States?  No,  we  have  not  col- 
lashed  —  that  is  the  word  that  sounds  nearest  to 
what  I  mean.  But  the  thread  is  cut  between  us  and 
we  will  never  gybe  again,  no,  never  —  worlds  with 
out  end.  I  am  not  going  to  have  their  troops  here 
to  protect  the  priests  and  rabble  in  their  efforts  to 


234         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

drive  us  from  the  land  we  possess.  The  Lord  does 
not  want  us  to  be  driven.  He  has  said  to  me,  *  If 
you  will  assert  your  rights  and  keep  my  command 
ments,  you  shall  never  again  be  brought  into 
bondage  by  your  enemies.'  The  United  States 
says  that  their  army  is  legal,  but  I  say  that  such  a 
statement  is  false  as  hell,  and  that  those  States  are 
as  rotten  as  an  old  pumpkin  that  has  been  frozen 
seven  times  over  and  then  thawed  in  a  harvest  sun. 
We  can't  have  that  army  here  and  have  peace  — 
you  might  as  well  tell  me  you  could  make  hell  into 
a  powder-house.  And  so  we  shall  melt  those  troops 
away.  I  promise  you  our  enemies  shall  never  '  slip 
the  bow  on  old  Bright's  neck  again/  ' 

Joel  Rae  was  again  under  the  sway  of  his  old 
warlike  feelings.  Brigham  had  revived  his  fainting 
faith.  He  went  out  into  the  noise  and  hurry  of 
war  preparations  in  a  sort  of  intoxication.  Under 
neath  he  never  ceased  to  be  conscious  of  the  dreadful 
specter  that  would  not  be  gone  —  that  stood  im 
passive  and  immovable  as  one  of  the  mountains 
about  him,  waiting  for  him  to  come  to  it  and  face 
it  and  live  his  day  of  reckoning,  —  the  day  of  his 
own  judgment  upon  himself.  But  he  drank  thirstily 
of  the  martial  draught  and  lived  the  time  in  a  fever 
of  tumultuous  drunkenness  to  the  awful  truth. 

He  saw  to  it  that  he  was  never  alone  by  day  or 
night.  Once  a  new  thought  and  a  sudden  hope 
came  to  him,  and  he  had  been  about  to  pray  that  in 
the  campaign  he  was  entering  he  might  be  killed. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         235 

But  a  second  thought  stayed  him;  he  had  no  right 
to  die  until  he  had  faced  his  own  judgment. 

The  army  of  Israel  was  now  well  organised.  It 
had  taken  all  able-bodied  males  between  the  ages 
of  eighteen  and  forty-five.  There  were  a  lieutenant- 
general,  four  generals,  eleven  colonels,  and  six 
majors.  In  addition  to  the  Saints'  own  forces  there 
were  the  Indians,  for  Brigham  had  told  a  messenger 
who  came  to  ascertain  his  disposition  toward  the 
approaching  army  that  he  would  "  no  longer  hold 
the  Indians  by  the  wrist."  This  messenger  had 
suggested  that,  while  the  army  might  be  kept  from 
entering  the  valley  that  winter,  it  would  assuredly 
march  in,  the  following  spring.  Brigham's  reply 
had  not  lacked  the  point  that  sharpened  most  of  his 
words. 

"  Before  we  shall  suffer  what  we  have  in  times 
gone  by  we  will  burn  and  lay  waste  our  improve 
ments,  and  you  will  find  the  desert  here  again. 
There  will  not  be  left  one  building,  nor  one  foot 
of  lumber,  nor  a  stick  or  tree  or  particle  of  grass  or 
hay  that  will  burn.  I  will  lay  this  valley  utterly 
waste  in  the  name  of  Israel's  God.  We  have  three 
years'  provisions,  which  we  will  cache,  and  then 
take  to  the  mountains."  The  messenger  had  re 
turned  to  Fort  Bridger  and  the  measures  of  defense 
went  forward  in  the  valley. 

Forces  were  sent  into  Echo  Canon,  the  narrow 
defile  between  the  mountains  through  which  an 
army  would  have  to  pass.  On  the  east  side  men 
were  put  to  building  stone  ramparts  as  a  protection 


236         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

for  riflemen.  On  the  west,  where  the  side  was 
sloping,  they  dug  pits  for  the  same  purpose.  They 
also  built  dams  to  throw  large  bodies  of  water  along 
the  west  side  of  the  canon  so  that  an  army  would 
be  forced  to  the  east  side;  and  here  at  the  top  of 
the  cliff,  great  quantities  of  boulders  were  placed 
so  that  a  slight  leverage  would  suffice  to  hail  them 
down  upon  the  army  as  it  marched  below. 

When  word  came  that  the  invaders  had  crossed 
the  Utah  line,  Brigham  sent  forward  a  copy  of  his 
proclamation  and  a  friendly  note  of  warning  to  the 
officer  in  command.  In  this  he  directed  that  officer 
to  retire  from  the  Territory  by  the  same  route  he 
had  entered  it ;  adding,  however,  "  should  you  deem 
this  impracticable  and  prefer  to  remain  until  spring 
in  the  vicinity  of  your  present  position  at  Black's 
Fork  or  Green  River,  you  can  do  so  in  peace  and 
unmolested  on  condition  that  you  deposit  your  arms 
and  ammunition  with  Lewis  Robinson,  Quarter 
master-General  of  the  Territory,  and  leave  as  soon 
in  the  spring  as  the  roads  will  permit  you  to  march. 
And  should  you  fall  short  of  provisions  they  will 
be  furnished  you  upon  making  the  proper  applica 
tion."  The  officer  who  received  this  note  had 
replied  somewhat  curtly  that  the  forces  he  com 
manded  were  in  Utah  by  order  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States  and  that  their  future  move 
ments  would  depend  wholly  upon  orders  issued  by 
competent  military  authority.  Thus  the  issue  was 
forced. 

In  addition  to  the  defense  of  Echo  Canon,  certain 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         237 

aggressive  moves  were  made.  To  Joel  Rae  was 
allotted  command  of  one  of  these.  His  orders  prom 
ised  all  he  could  wish  of  action.  He  read  them 
and  felt  something  like  his  old  truculent  enthusiasm. 

"  You  will  proceed  with  all  possible  dispatch,  without  injur 
ing  your  animals,  to  the  Oregon  Road  near  the  bend  of  Bear 
River,  north  by  east  of  this  place.  When  you  approach  the 
road,  send  scouts  ahead  to  ascertain  if  the  invading  troops 
have  passed  that  way.  Should  they  have  passed,  take  a  con 
cealed  route  and  get  ahead  of  them.  On  ascertaining  the 
locality  of  the  troops,  proceed  at  once  to  annoy  them  in  every 
possible  way.  Use  every  exertion  to  stampede  their  animals 
and  set  fire  to  their  trains.  Burn  the  whole  country  before 
them  and  on  their  flanks.  Keep  them  from  sleeping,  by  night 
surprises ;  blockade  the  road  by  felling  trees,  or  destroying 
river  fords  where  you  can.  Watch  for  opportunities  to  set  fire 
to  the  grass  on  their  windward,  so  as  to  envelope  their  trains 
if  possible.  Leave  no  grass  before  them  that  can  be  burned. 
Keep  your  men  concealed  as  much  as  possible,  and  guard 
against  surprise.  God  bless  you  and  give  you  success. 

"  YOUR  BROTHER  IN  CHRIST." 


Forty-four  men  were  placed  under  his  command 
to  perform  this  work,  and  all  of  them  were  soon 
impressed,  even  to  alarm,  by  the  very  evident  re 
liance  of  their  leader  upon  the  God  of  Israel  rather 
than  upon  any  merely  human  wisdom  of  his  own. 

The  first  capture  was  not  difficult.  After  an  all- 
night  ride  they  came  up  with  a  supply-train  of 
twenty-five  wagons  drawn  by  oxen.  The  captain 
of  this  train  was  ordered  to  "go  the  other  way  " 
until  he  reached  the  States.  He  started;  but  as  he 
retraced  his  steps  as  often  as  they  moved  away,  they 
at  length  burned  his  train  and  left  him. 


238         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

And  then  the  recklessness  of  the  new-fledged 
major  became  manifest.  He  sent  one  of  his  cap 
tains  with  twenty  men  to  capture  or  stampede  the 
mules  of  the  Tenth  Regiment,  while  he  with  the 
remainder  of  his  force  set  off  toward  Sandy  Fork 
in  search  of  more  wagon-trains.  When  his  scouts 
late  in  the  day  reported  a  train  of  twenty-six 
wagons,  he  was  advised  by  them  that  he  ought  not 
to  attack  it  with  so  small  a  force ;  but  to  this  advice 
he  was  deaf,  rebuking  the  men  for  their  little  faith. 

He  allowed  the  train  to  proceed  until  after  dark, 
and  then  drew  cautiously  near.  Learning,  how 
ever,  that  the  drivers  wrere  drunk,  he  had  his  force 
lie  concealed  for  a  time,  fearing  that  they  might 
prove  belligerent  and  thus  compel  him  to  shed 
blood,  which  he  wished  not  to  do. 

At  midnight  the  scouts  reported  that  the  train 
was  drawn  up  in  two  lines  for  the  night  and  that 
all  was  quiet.  He  mounted  his  command  and  or 
dered  an  advance.  Approaching  the  camp,  they  dis 
covered  a  fact  that  the  scouts  had  failed  to  note; 
a  second  train  had  joined  the  first,  and  the  little  host 
of  Israel  was  now  confronted  by  twice  the  antici 
pated  force.  This  discovery  was  made  too  late 
for  them  to  retire  unobserved.  The  men,  however, 
expected  their  leader  to  make  some  inquiry  con 
cerning  the  road  and  then  ride  on.  But  they  had 
not  plumbed  the  depth  of  his  faith. 

Ap  the  force  neared  the  camp-fire  close  to  the 
wagons,  the  rear  of  the  column  was  lost  in  the  dark 
ness.  What  the  teamsters  about  the  fire  saw  was  an 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         239 

apparently  endless  column  of  men  advancing  upon 
them.  Their  leader  halted  the  column,  called  for 
the  captain  of  the  train,  ordered  him  to  have  his  men 
stack  their  arms,  collect  their  property,  and  stand  by 
under  guard.  Dismounting  from  his  horse,  he 
fashioned  a  torch  and  directed  one  of  the  drivers 
to  apply  it  to  the  wagons,  in  order  that  "  the  Gen 
tiles  might  spoil  the  Gentiles."  By  the  time  the 
teamsters  had  secured  their  personal  belongings 
and  a  little  stock  of  provisions  for  immediate  neces 
sity  the  fifty  wagons  were  ablaze.  The  following 
day,  on  the  Big  Sandy,  they  destroyed  another 
train  and  a  few  straggling  sutlers'  wagons. 

And  so  the  campaign  went  forward.  As  the 
winter  came  on  colder,  the  scouts  brought  in 
moving  tales  of  the  enemy's  discomfiture.  Colonel 
Alexander  of  the  Federal  forces,  deciding  that  the 
canons  could  be  defended  by  the  Saints,  planned 
to  approach  Salt  Lake  City  over  a  roundabout  route 
to  the  north.  He  started  in  heavy  snow,  cutting  a 
road  through  the  greasewood  and  sage-brush. 
Often  his  men  made  but  three  miles  a  day,  and  his 
supply-train  was  so  long  that  sometimes  half  of  it 
would  be  camped  for  the  night  before  the  rear 
wagons  had  moved.  As  there  was  no  cavalry  in  the 
force  the  hosts  of  Israel  harassed  them  sorely  on  this 
march,  on  one  day  consecrating  eight  hundred  head 
of  their  oxen  and  driving  them  to  Salt  Lake. 

Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  commanding  the  ex 
pedition,  had  also  suffered  greatly  with  his  forces. 


240         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

The  early  snows  deprived  his  stock  of  forage,  and 
the  unusual  cold  froze  many  oxen  and  mules. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Cooke  of  the  Second  Drag 
oons,  with  whom  travelled  the  newly  appointed  gov 
ernor,  was  another  to  suffer.  At  Fort  Laramie  so 
many  of  his  animals  had  dropped  out  that  numbers 
of  his  men  were  dismounted,  and  the  ambulances 
used  to  carry  grain.  Night  after  night  they  huddled 
at  the  base  of  cliffs  in  the  fearful  eddies  of  the  snow, 
and  heard  above  the  blast  the  piteous  cries  of  their 
famished  and  freezing  stock.  Day  after  day  they 
pushed  against  the  keen  blades  of  the  wind,  toiling 
through  frozen  clouds  and  stinging  ice  blasts. 
The  last  thirty-five  miles  to  Fort  Bridger  had  re 
quired  fifteen  days,  and  at  one  camp  on  Black's  Fork, 
which  they  called  the  "  camp  of  Death,"  five  hun 
dred  animals  perished  in  a  night. 

Nor  did  the  hardships  of  the  troops  end  when 
they  had  all  reached  what  was  to  be  their  winter 
quarters.  Still  a  hundred  and  fifteen  miles  from  the 
City  of  the  Saints,  they  were  poorly  housed  against 
the  bitter  cold,  poorly  fed,  and  insufficiently 
clothed,  for  the  burning  of  the  trains  by  the  Lord's 
hosts  had  reduced  all  supplies. 

Reports  of  this  distress  were  duly  carried  to  Brig- 
ham  and  published  to  the  Saints.  Their  soldiers 
had  made  good  their  resolve  to  prevent  the  Federal 
army  from  passing  the  Wasatch  Mountains. 
Aggressive  operations  ceased  for  the  winter,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  militia  returned  to  their 
homes.  A  small  outpost  of  fifty  men  under  the 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         241 

command  of  Major  Joel  Rae  —  who  had  earnestly 
requested  this  assignment  —  was  left  to  guard  the 
narrows  of  Echo  Canon  and  to  keep  watch  over 
the  enemy  during  the  winter.  This  officer  was  now 
persuaded  that  the  Lord's  hand  was  with  them. 
For  the  enemy  had  been  wasted  away  even  by  the 
elements  from  the  time  he  had  crossed  the  forbidden 
line. 

In  Salt  Lake  City  that  winter,  the  same  opinion 
prevailed.  They  were  henceforth  to  be  the  free 
and  independent  State  of  Deseret. 

"  Do  you  want  to  know,"  asked  Brigham,  in 
the  tabernacle,  "  what  is  to  be  done  with  the 
enemy  now  on  our  borders?  As  soon  as  they  start 
to  come  into  our  settlements,  let  sleep  depart  from 
their  eyes  until  they  sleep  in  death !  Men  shall  be 
secreted  along  the  route  and  shall  waste  them  away 
in  the  name  of  the  God  of  Battles.  The  United 
States  will  have  to  make  peace  with  us.  Never 
again  shall  we  make  peace  with  them." 

And  they  sang  with  fervour :  — 

'« By  the  mountains  our  Zion's  surrounded, 

Her  warriors  are  noble  and  brave; 
And  their  faith  on  Jehovah  is  founded, 

Whose  power  is  mighty  to  save. 
Opposed  by  a  proud,  boasting  nation, 

Their  numbers  compared  may  be  few ; 
But  their  Ruler  is  known  through  creation, 

And  they'll  always  be  faithful  and  true." 


CHAPTER   XX. 

How  the  Lion  of  the  Lord  Roared  Soft 

BUT  with  the  coming  of  spring-  some  fever  that 
had  burned  in  the  blood  of  the  Saints  from 
high  to  low  was  felt  to  be  losing  its  heat. 
They  had  held  the  Gentile  army  at  bay  during  the 
winter  —  with  the  winter's  help.     But  spring  was 
now  melting  the  snows.     Reports  from  Washing 
ton,  moreover,  indicated  that  a  perverse  generation 
in  the  States  had  declined  to  accept  the  decrees  of 
Israel's  God  without  further  proofs  of  their  authen 
ticity. 

With  a  view  to  determining  this  issue,  Congress 
had  voted  more  money  for  troops.  Three  thousand 
men  were  to  march  to  the  reinforcement  of  the 
army  of  Johnston  on  Black's  Fork;  forty-five  hun 
dred  wagons  were  to  transport  their  supplies;  and 
fifty  thousand  oxen  and  four  thousand  mules  were 
to  pull  these  wagons.  War,  in  short,  was  to  be 
waged  upon  this  Israel  hidden  in  the  chamber  of 
the  mountains.  To  Major  Rae,  watching  on  the 
outposts  of  Zion  from  behind  the  icy  ramparts  of 
Echo  Canon,  the  news  was  welcome,  even  enliven- 

242 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         243 

ing.  The  more  glory  there  would  be  in  that  ultimate 
triumph  which  the  Lord  was  about  to  secure  for 
them. 

In  Brigham  and  the  other  leaders,  however,  this 
report  induced  deep  thought.  And  finally,  on  a 
day,  they  let  it  be  known  that  there  could  no  longer 
be  any  thought  of  actual  war  with  the  armies  of 
the  Gentile.  Joel  Rae  in  Echo  Canon  was  incred 
ulous.  There  must  be  battle  given.  The  Lord 
would  make  them  prevail;  the  living  God  of 
Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob,  would  hold  them 
up.  And  battle  must  be  given  for  another  reason, 
though  he  hardly  dared  let  that  reason  be  plain  to 
himself.  For  only  by  continuing  the  war,  only  by 
giving  actual  battle  to  armed  soldiers,  by  fighting  to 
the  end  if  need  be  —  only  so  could  that  day  in  Moun 
tain  Meadows  be  made  to  appear  as  anything  but  — 
he  shuddered  and  could  not  name  it.  Even  if  actual 
war  were  to  be  fought  on  and  on  for  years,  he 
believed  that  day  could  hardly  be  justified;  but  at 
least  it  could  be  made  in  years  of  fighting  to  stand 
less  horribly  high  and  solitary.  They  must  fight, 
he  thought,  even  if  it  were  to  lose  all.  But  the  Lord 
would  stay  them.  How  much  more  wicked  and 
perverse,  then,  to  reject  the  privilege ! 

When  he  heard  that  the  new  governor,  who  had 
been  in  the  snow  with  Johnston's  army  all  winter, 
was  to  enter  Salt  Lake  City  and  take  his  office  — 
a  Gentile  officer  to  sit  on  the  throne  of  Brigham  — 
he  felt  that  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  had  been 
thrown  down.  "  Let  us  not,"  he  implored  Brigham 


244        THE  LIONS  OF  THE  LORD 

in  a  letter  sent  him  from  Echo  Canon,  "  be  again 
dragooned  into  servile  obedience  to  any  one  less  than 
the  Christ  of  God!" 

But  Brigham's  reply  was  an  order  to  pass  the  new 
governor  through  Echo  Canon.  According  to  the 
terms  of  this  order  he  was  escorted  through  at  night, 
in  a  manner  to  convince  him  that  he  was  passing  be 
tween  the  lines  of  a  mighty  and  far-flung  host. 
Fires  were  kindled  along  the  heights  and  the  small 
force  attending  him  was  cunningly  distributed  and 
duplicated,  a  few  of  its  numbers  going  ahead  from 
time  to  time,  halting  the  rest  of  the  party  and  de 
manding  the  countersign. 

Joel  Rae  found  himself  believing  that  he  could 
now  have  been  a  fiercer  Lion  of  the  Lord  than  Brig- 
ham  was ;  for  he  would  have  fought,  while  Brigham 
was  stooping  to  petty  strategies  —  as  if  God  were 
needing  to  rely  upon  deceits. 

He  was  only  a  little  appeased  when,  on  going  to 
Salt  Lake  City,  he  learned  Brigham's  intentions 
more  fully.  The  new  governor  had  been  installed; 
but  the  army  of  Johnston  was  to  turn  back.  This 
was  Brigham's  first  promise.  Soon,  however,  this 
was  modified.  The  government,  it  appeared,  was 
bent  upon  quartering  its  troops  in  the  valley;  and 
Zion,  therefore,  would  be  again  led  into  the  wil 
derness.  The  earlier  promise  was  repeated  —  and 
the  earlier  threat  —  to  the  peace  commissioners 
now  sent  on  from  Washington. 

"  We  are  willing  those  troops  should  come  into 
our  country,  but  not  stay  in  our  city.  They  may 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD        245 

pass  through  if  need  be,  but  must  not  be  quartered 
within  forty  miles  of  us.  And  if  they  come  here 
to  disturb  this  people,  before  they  reach  here  this 
city  will  be  in  ashes;  every  house  and  tree  and 
shrub  and  blade  of  grass  will  be  destroyed.  Here 
are  twenty  years'  gathering,  but  it  will  all  burn. 
You  will  have  won  back  the  wilderness,  barren  again 
as  on  the  day  we  entered  it,  but  you  will  not  have 
conquered  the  people.  Our  wives  and  children  will 
go  to  the  canons  and  take  shelter  in  the  mountains, 
while  their  husbands  and  sons  will  fight  you.  You 
will  be  without  fuel,  without  subsistence  for  your 
selves  or  forage  for  your  animals.  You  will  be  in 
a  strange  land,  while  we  know  every  foot  of  it. 
We  will  haunt  and  harass  you  and  pick  you  off  by 
day  and  by  night,  and,  as  God  lives,  we  will  waste 
your  army  away." 

This  was  hopeful.  Here  at  least  was  another 
chance  to  suffer  persecution,  and  thus,  in  a  measure, 
atone  for  any  monstrous  wrong  they  might  have 
done.  He  hoped  the  soldiers  would  come  despoiling, 
plundering,  thus  compelling  them  to  use  the  torch 
and  to  flee.  Another  forced  exodus  would  help  to 
drive  certain  memories  from  his  mind  and  silence 
the  cries  that  were  now  beginning  to  ring  in  his 
ears. 

Obedient  to  priestly  counsel,  the  Saints  declined, 
in  the  language  of  Brigham,  "  to  trust  again  in  Punic 
faith."  In  April  they  began  to  move  south,  starting 
from  the  settlements  on  the  north.  During  that  and 
the  two  succeeding  months  thirty  thousand  of  them 


246         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

left  their  homes.  They  took  only  their  wagons,  bed 
ding,  and  provisions,  leaving  their  other  possessions 
to  the  mercy  of  the  expected  despoiler.  Before  lock 
ing  the  doors  of  their  houses  for  the  last  time,  they 
strewed  shavings,  straw,  and  other  combustibles 
through  the  rooms  so  that  the  work  of  firing  the  city 
could  be  done  quickly.  A  score  of  men  were  left 
behind  to  apply  the  torch  the  moment  it  became 
necessary,  —  should  a  gate  be  swung  open  or  a  latch 
lifted  by  hostile  hands.  Their  homes  and  fields  and 
orchards  might  be  given  back  to  the  desert  from 
which  they  had  been  won ;  but  never  to  the  Gentile 
invaders. 

To  the  south  the  wagons  crept,  day  after  day,  to 
some  other  unknown  desert  which  their  prophet 
should  choose,  and  where,  if  the  Lord  willed,  they 
would  again  charm  orchards  and  gardens  and  green 
fields  from  the  gray,  parched  barrens. 

Late  in  June  the  army  of  Johnston  descended  Emi 
gration  Canon,  passed  through  the  echoing  streets 
of  the  all  but  deserted  city  and  camped  on  the  River 
Jordan.  But,  to  the  deep  despair  of  one  observer, 
these  invaders  committed  no  depredation  or  overt  act. 
After  resting  inoffensively  two  days  on  the  Jordan, 
they  marched  forty  miles  south  to  Cedar  Valley, 
where  Camp  Floyd  was  established. 

Thus,  no  one  fully  comprehending  how  it  ha'd 
come  about,  peace  was  seen  suddenly  to  have  been 
restored.  The  people,  from  Brigham  down,  had 
been  offered  a  free  pardon  for  all  past  treasons  and 
seditions  if  they  would  return  to  their  allegiance  to 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         247 

the  Federal  government;  the  new  officers  of  the 
Territory  were  installed,  sons  of  perdition  in  the 
seats  of  the  Lord's  mighty;  and  sermons  of  wrath 
against  Uncle  Sam  ceased  for  the  moment  to  resound 
in  the  tabernacle.  Early  in  July,  Brigham  ordered 
the  people  to  return  to  their  homes.  They  had  of 
fered  these  as  a  sacrifice,  even  as  Abraham  had 
offered  Isaac,  and  the  "Lord  had  caught  them  a 
timely  ram  in  the  thicket. 

In  the  midst  of  the  general  rejoicing,  Joel  Rae 
was  overwhelmed  with  humiliation  and  despair.  He 
was  ashamed  for  having  once  wished  to  be  another 
Lion  of  the  Lord.  It  was  a  poor  way  to  find  favour 
with  God,  he  thought,  —  this  refusing  battle  when 
it  had  been  all  but  forced  upon  them.  It  was  plain, 
however,  that  the  Lord  meant  to  try  them  further,  — 
plain,  too,  that  in  His  inscrutable  wisdom  He  had 
postponed  the  destruction  of  the  wicked  nation  to 
the  east  of  them. 

He  longed  again  to  rise  before  the  people  and  call 
them  to  repentance  and  to  action.  Once  he  would 
have  done  so,  but  now  an  evil  shadow  lay  upon  him. 
Intuitively  he  knew  that  his  words  would  no  longer 
come  with  power.  Some  virtue  had  gone  out  of  him. 
And  with  this  loss  of  confidence  in  himself  came 
again  a  desire  to  be  away  from  the  crowded  center. 

Off  to  the  south  was  the  desert.  There  he  could 
be  alone ;  there  face  God  and  his  own  conscience  and 
have  his  inmost  soul  declare  the  truth  about  himself. 
In  his  sadness  he  would  have  liked  to  lead  the  people 
with  him,  lead  them  away  from  some  evil,  some 


248          THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

falsity  that  had  crept  in  about  them;  he  knew  not 
what  it  was  nor  how  it  had  come,  but  Zion  had  been 
defiled.  Something  was  gone  from  the  Church, 
something  from  Brigham,  something  from  himself, 
—  something,  it  almost  seemed,  even  from  the  God 
of  Israel.  When  the  summer  waned,  his  plan  was 
formed  to  go  to  one  of  the  southern  settlements  to 
live.  Brigham  had  approved.  The  Church  needed 
new  blood  there. 

He  rode  out  of  the  city  one  early  morning  in 
September,  facing  to  the  south  over  the  rolling 
valley  that  lay  between  the  hills  now  flaunting  their 
first  autumn  colours.  He  was  in  haste  to  go,  yet 
fearful  of  what  he  should  meet  there. 

A  little  out  of  the  city  he  passed  a  man  from  the 
south,  huddled  high  on  the  seat  under  the  bow  of  his 
wagon-cover,  who  sang  as  he  went  one  of  the  songs 
that  had  been  so  popular  the  winter  before :  — 

"  Old  squaw-killer  Harney  is  on  the  way 
The  Mormon  people  for  to  slay. 
Now  if  he  comes,  the  truth  I'll  tell, 
Our  boys  will  drive  him  down  to  hell  — 
Du  dah,  du  dah,  day !  " 

He  smiled  grimly  as  the  belated  echo  of  war  came 
back  to  him. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

The  Blood   on   the  Page 

ALONG  the  level  lane  between  the  mountain 
ranges  he  went,  a  lane  that  runs  almost  from 
Bear  Creek  on  the  north  to  the  Colorado  on 
the  south,  with  a  width  of  twenty  miles  or  so. 
But  for  Joel  Rae  it  became  a  ride  down  the  valley 
of  lost  illusions.  Some  saving  grace  of  faith  was 
gone  from  the  people.  He  passed  through  sturdy 
little  settlements,  bowered  in  gardens  and  orchards, 
and  girded  about  by  now  fertile  acres  where  once 
had  been  the  bare,  gray  desert.  Slowly,  mile  by 
mile,  the  Saints  had  pushed  down  the  valley,  battling 
with  the  Indians  and  the  elements  for  every  acre 
of  land  they  gained.  Yet  it  seemed  to  him  now  that 
they  had  achieved  but  a  mere  Godless  prosperity. 
They  had  worked  a  miracle  of  abundance  in  the 
desert  —  but  of  what  avail  ?  For  the  soul  of  their 
faith  was  gone.  He  felt  or  heard  the  proof  of 
it  on  every  hand. 

Through  Battle  Creek,  Provo,  and  Springville  he 
went;  through  Spanish  Fork,  Payson,  Salt  Creek, 
and  Fillmore.  He  stopped  to  preach  at  each  place, 

249 


250         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

but  he  did  it  perfunctorily,  and  with  shame  for 
himself  in  his  secret  heart.  Some  impalpable  es 
sence  of  spirituality  was  gone  from  himself  and 
from  the  people.  He  felt  himself  wickedly  agreeing 
with  a  pessimistic  elder  at  Fillmore,  who  remarked : 
"  I  tell  you  what,  Brother  Rae,  it  seems  like  when 
the  Book  of  Mormon  goes  again'  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  there's  sure  to  be  hell  to  pay, 
and  the  Saints  allus  has  to  pay  it."  He  could  not  tell 
the  man  in  words  of  fire,  as  once  he  would  have 
done,  that  they  had  been  punished  for  lack  of  faith. 

Another  told  him  it  was  madness  to  have  thought 
they  could  "whip"  the  United  States.  "Why," 
said  this  one,  "  they's  more  soldiers  back  there  east 
of  the  Missouri  than  there  is  fiddlers  in  hell !  "  By 
the  orthodox  teachings  of  the  time,  the  good  man 
of  Israel  had  thus  indicated  an  overwhelming  host. 

He  passed  sadly  on.  They  would  not  understand 
that  they  had  laid  by  and  forgotten  their  impene 
trable  armour  of  faith. 

Between  Beaver  and  Paragonah  that  day,  toiling 
intently  along  the  dusty  road  in  the  full  blaze  of 
the  August  sun,  he  met  a  woman,  —  a  tall,  strong 
creature  with  a  broad,  kind  face,  burned  and  seamed 
and  hardened  by  life  in  the  open.  Yet  it  was  a  face 
that  appealed  to  him  by  its  look  of  simple,  trusting 
earnestness.  Her  dress  was  of  stout,  gray  home 
spun,  her  shoes  were  coarse  and  heavy,  and  she  was 
bareheaded,  her  gray,  straggling  hair  half  caught 
into  a  clumsy  knot  at  the  back  of  her  head.  She 
turned  out  to  pass  him  without  looking  up,  but  he 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         251 

stopped  his  horse  and  dismounted  before  her.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  here  was  one  whose  faith  was 
still  fresh,  and  to  such  a  one  he  needed  to  talk. 
He  called  to  her: 

"You  need  something  on  your  head;  you  are 
burned." 

She  looked  up,  absently  at  first,  as  if  neither  see 
ing  nor  hearing  him.  Then  intelligence  came  into 
her  eyes. 

"  You  mean  my  Timothy  needs  something  on  his 
head  —  poor  man !  You  see  he  broke  out  of  the 
house  last  night,  because  the  Bishop  told  him  I 
was  to  take  another  husband.  Cruel !  Oh,  so  cruel ! 
—  the  poor  foolish  man,  he  believed  it,  and  he  cared 
so  for  me.  He  thought  I  was  bringing  home  a  new 
man  with  me  —  a  new  wedding  for  time  and  eter 
nity,  to  build  myself  up  in  the  Kingdom  —  a  new 
wedding  night  —  with  him  sitting  off,  cold  and  neg 
lected.  But  something  burst  in  his  head.  It  made  a 
roar  like  the  mill  at  Cedar  Creek  when  it  grinds  the 
corn  —  just  like  that.  So  he  went  out  into  the  cold 
night  —  it  was  sleeting  —  thinking  I'd  never  miss 
him,  you  see,  me  being  fondled  and  made  over  by  the 
new  man  —  wouldn't  miss  him  till  morning."  A 
scowl  of  indignation  darkened  her  face  for  an  in 
stant,  and  she  paused,  looking  off  toward  the  distant 
hills. 

"  But  that  was  all  a  lie,  a  mean  lie!  I  don't  see 
how  he  could  have  believed  it.  I  think  he  couldn't 
have  been  right  up  here  —  "  she  pointed  to  her  head. 

"  But  of  course  I  followed  him,  and  I've  been 


252         THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD 

following  him  all  day.  He  must  have  got  quite  a 
start  of  me  —  poor  dear  —  how  could  he  think  I'd 
break  his  heart?  But  I'll  have  him  found  by  night. 
I  must  hurry,  so  good  day,  sir !  "  She  curtsied  to 
him  with  a  curious  awkward  sort  of  grace.  He 
stopped  her  again. 

"  Where  will  you  sleep  to-night  ?  " 

"In  his  arms,  thank  God!" 

"  But  if  you  happen  to  miss  him  —  you  might  not 
find  him  until  to-morrow." 

A  puzzled  look  crossed  her  face,  and  then  came 
the  shadow  of  a  disquieting  memory. 

"  Now  you  speak  so,  I  remember  that  it  wasn't 
last  night  he  left  —  it  was  the  night  before  —  no? 
—  perhaps  three  or  four  nights.  But  not  as  much 
as  a  fortnight.  I  remember  my  little  baby  came  the 
night  he  left.  I  was  so  mad  to  find  him  I  suffered 
the  mother-pains  out  in  the  cold  rain  —  just  a  little 
dead  baby  —  I  could  take  no  interest  in  it.  And 
there  has  been  a  night  or  two  since  then,  of  course. 
Sleep?  —  oh,  I'll  sleep  some  easy  place  where  I  can 
hear  him  if  he  passes  —  sometimes  by  the  road,  in 
a  barn,  in  houses  —  they  let  me  sleep  where  I  like. 
I  must  hurry  now.  He's  waiting  just  over  that  hill 
ahead." 

He  saw  her  ascend  the  rise  with  a  new  spring  in 
her  step.  When  she  reached  the  top,  he  saw  her 
pause  and  look  from  side  to  side  below  her,  then 
start  hopefully  down  toward  the  next  hill. 

A  mile  beyond,  back  of  a  great  cloud  of  dust,  he 
found  a  drove  of  cattle,  and  back  of  these,  hot  and 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         253 

voiceful,  came  the  good  Bishop  Wright.  He  de 
scribed  the  woman  he  had  just  met,  and  inquired  if 
the  Bishop  knew  her. 

The  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountain  mopped  his  dusty, 
damp  brow,  took  an  easier  seat  in  his  saddle,  and 
fanned  himself.  "  Oh,  yes,  that's  the  first  wife  of 
Elder  Tench.  When  he  took  his  second,  eight  or  ten 
years  ago,  something  went  wrong  with  this  one  in 
her  head.  She  left  the  house  the  same  night,  and  she's 
been  on  the  go  ever  since.  She  don't  do  any  harm, 
jest  tramps  back  and  forth  between  Paragonah  and 
Parowan  and  Summit  and  Cedar  City.  I  always 
have  said  that  women  is  the  contrary  half  of  the 
human  race  and  man  is  the  sanifying  half!  " 

The  cattle  were  again  in  motion,  and  the  Bishop 
after  them  with  strong  cries  of  correction  and  ex 
hortation. 

Toward  evening  Joel  Rae  entered  Paragonah,  a 
loose  group  of  log  houses  amid  outlying  fields,  now 
shorn  and  yellow.  Along  the  street  in  front  of 
him  many  children  followed  and  jeered  in  the  wake 
of  a  man  who  slouched  some  distance  ahead  of 
them.  As  Joel  came  nearer,  one  boy,  bolder  than 
the  others,  ran  forward  and  tugged  sharply  at  the 
victim's  ragged  gray  coat.  At  this  he  turned  upon 
his  pursuers,  and  Joel  Rae  saw  his  face,  —  the  face 
of  an  imbecile,  with  unsteady  eyes  and  weakly  droop 
ing  jaw.  He  raised  his  hand  threateningly  at  his 
tormentors,  and  screamed  at  them  in  rage.  Then, 
as  they  fell  back,  he  chuckled  to  himself.  As  Joel 
passed  him,  he  was  still  looking  back  at  the  group 


254         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

of  children  now  jeering  him  from  a  safe  distance, 
his  eyes  bright  for  the  moment,  and  his  face  lighted 
with  a  weak,  loose-lipped  smile. 

"Who  is  that  fellow,  Bishop?"  he  asked  of  his 
host  for  the  night,  a  few  moments  later,  when  he 
dismounted  in  front  of  the  cabin.  The  Bishop 
shaded  his  eyes  with  his  hand  and  peered  up  the 
road  at  the  shambling  figure  once  more  moving- 
ahead  of  the  tormenting  children. 

"  That  ?  Oh,  that's  only  Tom  Potwin.  You 
heard  about  him,  I  guess.  No?  Well,  he's  a  simple 
—  been  so  four  years  now.  Don't  you  recollect  ? 
He's  the  lad  over  at  Manti  who  wouldn't  give  up 
the  girl  Bishop  Warren  Snow  wanted.  The  priest 
hood  tried  every  way  to  make  him ;  they  counselled 
him,  and  that  didn't  do ;  then  they  ordered  him  away 
on  mission,  but  he  wouldn't  go;  and  then  they 
counselled  the  girl,  but  she  was  stubborn  too.  The 
Bishop  saw  there  wasn't  any  other  way,  so  he  had 
him  called  to  a  meeting  at  the  schoolhouse  one  night. 
As  soon  as  he  got  there,  the  lights  was  blowed  out, 
and  —  well,  it  was  unfortunate,  but  this  boy's  been 
kind  of  an  idiot  ever  since." 

"  Unfortunate !    It  was  awful !  " 

"  Not  so  awful  as  refusing  to  obey  counsel." 

"What  became  of  the  girl?" 

"  Oh,  she  saw  it  wasn't  no  use  trying  to  go  against 
the  Lord,  so  she  married  the  Bishop.  He  said  at 
the  time  that  he  knew  she'd  bring  him  bad  luck  — 
she  being  his  thirteenth  —  and  she  did,  she  was  that 
hifalutin.  He  had  to  put  her  away  about  a  year 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         255 

ago,  and  I  hear  she's  living  in  a  dugout  somewhere 
the  other  side  of  Cedar  City,  a-starving  to  death 
they  tell  me,  but  for  what  the  neighbours  bring  her. 
I  never  did  see  why  the  Bishop  was  so  took  with  her. 
You  could  see  she'd  never  make  a  worker,  and  good 
looks  go  mighty  fast." 

He  dreamed  that  night  that  the  foundations  of 
the  great  temple  they  were  building  had  crumbled. 
And  when  he  brought  new  stones  to  replace  the  old, 
these  too  fell  away  to  dust  in  his  hands. 

The  next  evening  he  reached  Cedar  City.  Memo 
ries  of  this  locality  began  to  crowd  back  upon  him 
with  torturing  clearness;  especially  of  the  morning 
he  had  left  Hamblin's  ranch.  As  he  mounted  his 
horse  two  of  the  children  saved  from  the  wagon- 
train  had  stood  near  him,  —  a  boy  of  seven  and 
another  a  little  older,  the  one  who  had  fought  so 
viciously  with  him  when  he  was  separated  from 
the  little  girl.  He  remembered  that  the  younger 
of  the  two  boys  had  forgotten  all  but  the  first  of 
his  name.  He  had  told  them  that  it  was  John  Calvin 
—  something ;  he  could  not  remember  what,  so 
great  had  been  his  fright;  the  people  at  the  ranch, 
because  of  his  forlorn  appearance,  had  thereupon 
named  him  John  Calvin  Sorrow. 

These  two  boys  had  watched  him  closely  as  he 
mounted  his  horse,  and  the  older  one  had  called  to 
him,  "  When  I  get  to  be  a  man,  I'm  coming  back 
with  a  gun  and  kill  you  till  you  are  dead  yourself," 
and  the  other,  little  John  Calvin  Sorrow,  had 
clenched  his  fists  and  echoed  the  threat,  "  We'll  come 


256        THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

back  here  and  kill  you!  Mormons  is  worse'n 
Indians! " 

He  had  ridden  quickly  away,  not  noting  that  some 
of  the  men  standing  by  had  looked  sharply  at  the 
boys  and  then  significantly  at  one  another.  One 
of  those  who  had  been  present,  whom  he  now  met, 
told  him  of  these  two  boys. 

"  You  see,  Elder,  the  orders  from  headquarters 
was  to  save  only  them  that  was  too  young  to  give 
evidence  in  a  court.  But  these  two  was  very  for 
ward  and  knowing.  They  shouldn't  have  been  kept 
in  the  first  place.  So  two  men  —  no  need  of  nam 
ing  names  —  took  both  of  them  out  one  night. 
They  got  along  all  right  with  the  little  one,  the  one 
they  called  John  Calvin  Sorrow  —  only  the  little 
cuss  kicked  and  scrambled  so  that  we  both  had  to 
see  to  him  for  a  minute,  and  when  we  was  ready 
for  the  other,  there  he  was  at  least  ten  rods  away, 
a-legging  it  into  the  scrub  oak.  Well,  they  looked 
and  looked  and  hunted  around  till  daybreak,  but 
he'd  got  away  all  right,  the  moon  going  under  a 
cloud.  They  tracked  him  quite  a  ways  when  it 
come  light,  till  his  tracks  run  into  the  trail  of  a  big 
band  of  Navajos  that  had  been  up  north  trading 
ponies  and  was  going  back  south.  He  was  the  one 
that  talked  so  much  about  you,  but  you  needn't 
ever  have  any  fear  of  his  talking  any  more.  He'd 
be  done  for  one  way  or  another." 

For  the  first  time  in  his  life  that  night,  he  was 
afraid  to  pray,  —  afraid  even  to  give  thanks  that 
others  were  sleeping  in  the  room  with  him  so  that 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         257 

he  could  hear  their  breathing  and  know  that  he  was 
not  alone. 

He  was  up  betimes  to  press  on  to  the  south,  again 
afraid  to  pray,  and  dreading  what  was  still  in  store 
for  him.  For  sooner  or  later  he  would  have  to  be 
alone  in  the  night.  Thus  far  since  that  day  in  the 
Meadows  he  had  slept  near  others,  whether  in  cabins 
or  in  camp,  in  some  freighter's  wagon  or  bivouack 
ing  in  the  snows  of  Echo  Canon.  Each  night  he 
had  been  conscious,  at  certain  terrible  moments  of 
awakening,  that  others  were  near  him.  He  heard 
their  breathing,  or  in  the  silence  a  fire's  light  had 
shown  him  a  sleeping  face,  the  lines  of  a  form,  or 
an  arm  tossed  out.  What  would  happen  on  the  night 
he  found  himself  alone,  he  knew  not  —  death,  or  the 
loss  of  reason.  He  knew  what  the  torture  would 
be,  —  the  shrieks  of  women  in  deadly  terror,  the 
shrill  cries  of  children,  the  low,  tense  curses  of  men, 
the  rattle  of  shots,  the  yells  of  Indians,  the  heavy, 
sickening  smell  of  blood,  the  still  forms  fallen  in 
strange  positions  of  ease,  the  livid  faces  distorted 
to  grins.  He  had  not  been  able  to  keep  the  sounds 
from  his  ears,  but  thus  far  the  things  themselves 
had  stayed  behind  him,  moving  always,  crawling, 
writhing,  even  stepping  furtively  close  at  his  back, 
so  that  he  could  feel  their  breath  on  his  neck.  When 
the  time  came  that  these  should  move  around  in 
front  of  him,  he  thought  it  would  have  to  be  the 
end.  They  would  go  before  him,  a  wild,  bleeding, 
raving  procession,  until  they  tore  his  heart  from 
his  breast.  One  sight  he  feared  most  of  all,  —  a 


258         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

bronzed  arm  with  a  wide  silver  bracelet  at  the  wrist, 
the  hand  clutching  and  waving  before  him  heavy 
strands  of  long,  yellow  hair  with  a  gory  patch  at  the 
end,  —  living  hair  that  writhed  and  undulated  to 
catch  the  light,  coiling  about  the  arm  like  a  golden 
serpent. 

His  way  lay  through  the  Meadows,  yet  he  hardly 
realised  this  until  he  was  fairly  on  the  ground  in 
the  midst  of  a  thousand  evil  signs  of  the  day.  Here, 
a  year  after,  were  skulls  and  whitening  bones,  some 
in  heaps,  some  scattered  through  the  sage-brush 
where  the  wolves  had  left  them.  Many  of  the 
skulls  were  pierced  with  bullet-holes,  shattered  as  by 
heavy  blows,  or  cleft  as  with  a  sharp-edged  weapon. 
Even  more  terrifying  than  these  were  certain  traces 
caught  here  and  there  on  the  low  scrub  oaks  along 
the  way,  —  children's  sunbonnets ;  shreds  of  coarse 
lace,  muslin,  and  calico ;  a  child's  shoe,  the  tattered 
sleeve  of  a  woman's  dress  —  all  faded,  dead, 
whipped  by  the  wind. 

He  pressed  through  it  all  with  set  jaws,  trying 
to  keep  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  ground  beyond  his 
horse's  head;  but  his  ears  were  at  the  mercy  of 
the  cries  that  rang  from  every  thicket. 

Once  out  of  it,  he  rode  hard,  for  it  must  not 
come  yet  —  his  first  night  alone.  By  dusk  he  had 
reached  the  new  settlement  of  Amalon,  a  little  off 
the  main  road  in  a  valley  of  the  Pine  Mountains. 
Here  he  sought  the  house  where  he  had  left  the 
child.  When  he  had  picketed  his  horse  he  went  in 
and  had  her  brought  to  him,  —  a  fresh  little  flower- 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         259 

like  woman-child,  with  hair  and  eyes  that  told  of  her 
mother,  with  reminders  of  her  mother's  ways  as 
she  stood  before  him,  a  waiting  poise  of  the  head, 
a  lift  of  the  chin.  They  looked  at  each  other  in 
the  candle-light,  the  child  standing  by  the  woman 
who  had  brought  her,  looking  up  at  him  curiously, 
and  he  not  daring  to  touch  her  or  go  nearer.  She 
became  uneasy  and  frightened  at  last,  under  his 
scrutiny,  and  when  the  woman  would  have  held 
her  from  running  away,  began  to  cry,  so  that  he 
gave  the  word  to  let  her  go.  She  ran  quickly  into 
the  other  room  of  the  cabin,  from  which  she  called 
back  with  tears  of  indignation  in  her  voice, 
"  You're  not  my  papa  —  not  my  real  papa !  " 

When  the  people  were  asleep,  he  sat  before  the 
blaze  in  the  big  fireplace,  on  the  hearth  cleanly 
swept  with  its  turkey-wing  and  buffalo-tail.  There 
was  to  be  one  more  night  of  his  reprieve  from  soli 
tude.  The  three  women  of  the  house  and  the  man 
were  sleeping  around  the  room  in  bunks.  The 
child's  bed  had  been  placed  near  him  on  the  floor 
after  she  slept,  as  he  had  asked  it  to  be.  He  had 
no  thought  of  sleep  for  himself.  He  was  too  in 
tensely  awake  with  apprehension.  On  the  floor 
beside  his  chair  was  a  little  bundle  the  woman  had 
brought  him,  —  the  bundle  he  had  found  loosened 
by  her  side,  that  day,  with  the  trinkets  scattered 
about  and  the  limp-backed  little  Bible  lying  open 
where  it  had  fallen. 

He  picked  the  bundle  up  and  untied  it,  touching 
the  contents  timidly.  He  took  up  the  Bible  last, 


260         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

and  as  he  did  so  a  memory  flooded  back  upon  him 
that  sickened  him  and  left  him  trembling.  It  was 
the  book  he  had  given  her  on  her  seventeenth  birth 
day,  the  one  she  had  told  him  she  was  keeping  when 
they  parted  that  morning  at  Nauvoo.  He  knew  the 
truth  before  he  opened  it  at  the  yellowed  fly-leaf 
and  read  in  faded  ink,  "  From  Joel  to  Prudence  on 
this  day  when  she  is  seventeen  years  old  —  June 

2d,    I843." 

In  a  daze  of  feeling  he  turned  the  pages,  trying  to 
clear  his  mind,  glancing  at  the  chapter  headings  as 
he  turned,  —  "  Abram  is  Justified  by  Faith,"  "  God 
Instructeth  Isaac,"  "  Pharaoh's  Heart  Is  Hard 
ened,"  "  The  Laws  of  Murder,"  "  The  Curses  for 
Disobedience."  He  turned  rapidly  and  at  last  began 
to  run  the  leaves  from  between  his  thumb  and  finger, 
and  then,  well  over  in  the  book  something  dark 
caught  his  eye.  He  turned  the  leaves  back  again  to 
see  what  it  was;  but  not  until  the  book  was  opened 
flat  before  him  and  he  held  the  page  close  to  the 
light  did  he  see  what  it  was  his  eye  had  caught.  A 
wash  of  blood  was  across  the  page. 

He  stared  blankly  at  the  reddish,  dark  stain,  as  if 
its  spell  had  been  hypnotic.  Little  by  little  he  began 
to  feel  the  horror  of  it,  remembering  how  he  picked 
the  book  up  from  where  it  had  fallen  before  her. 
Slowly,  but  with  relentless  certainty,  his  mind 
cleared  to  what  he  saw. 

Now  for  the  first  time  he  began  to  notice  the 
words  that  showed  dimly  through  the  stain,  began 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         261 

to  read  them,  to  puzzle  them  out,  as  if  they  were  new 
to  him :  — 

"  But  I  say  unto  you  which  hear,  Love  your  enemies,  do 
good  to  them  which  hate  you, 

"  Bless  them  that  curse  you,  and  pray  for  them  which  de- 
spitefully  use  you. 

"And  unto  him  that  smiteth  thee  on  the  one  cheek,  offer 
also  the  other ;  and  him  that  taketh  away  thy  cloke  forbid  not 
to  take  thy  coat  also. 

"  Give  to  every  man  that  asketh  of  thee ;  and  of  him  that 
taketh  away  thy  goods  ask  them  not  again. 

"  And  as  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  also  to 
them  likewise." 

Again  and  again  he  read  them.  They  were  illu 
mined  with  a  strangely  terrible  meaning  by  the  blood 
of  her  he  had  loved  and  sworn  to  keep  himself  clean 
for. 

He  could  no  longer  fight  off  the  truth.  It  was 
facing  him  now  in  all  its  nakedness,  monstrous  to 
obscenity,  demanding  its  due  measure  from  his  own 
soul's  blood.  He  aroused  himself,  shivering,  and 
looked  out  into  the  room  where  the  shadows  lay 
heavy,  and  from  whence  came  the  breathing  of  the 
sleepers.  He  picked  up  the  now  sputtering  candle, 
set  in  its  hole  bored  in  a  block  of  wood,  and  held 
it  up  for  a  last  look  at  the  little  woman-child.  He 
was  full  of  an  agony  of  wonder  as  he  gazed,  of 
piteous  questioning  why  this  should  be  as  it  was. 
The  child  stirred  and  flung  one  arm  over  her  eyes 
as  if  to  hide  the  light.  He  put  out  the  candle  and 
set  it  down.  Then  stooping  over,  he  kissed  the  pil 
low  beside  the  child's  head  and  stepped  lightly  to 


262         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

the  door.  He  had  come  to  the  end  of  his  subter 
fuges  —  he  could  no  longer  delay  his  punishment. 
Outside  the  moon  was  shining,  and  his  horse 
moved  about  restlessly.  He  put  on  the  saddle  and 
rode  off  to  the  south,  galloping  rapidly  after  he 
reached  the  highway.  Off  there  was  a  kindly  desert 
where  a  man  could  take  in  peace  such  punishment 
as  his  body  could  bear  and  his  soul  decree;  and 
where  that  soul  could  then  pass  on  in  decent  privacy 
to  be  judged  by  its  Maker. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

The  Picture  in  the  Sky 

IF  something  of  the  peace  of  the  night-silence 
came  to  him  as  he  rode,  he  counted  it  only  the 
peace  of  surrender  and  despair.     He  knew  now 
that  he  had  been  cheated  of  all  his  great  long-nursed 
hopes  of  some  superior  exaltation.     Nor  this  only; 
for  he  had  sinned  unforgivably  and  incurred  perdi 
tion.     He  who  had   fasted,   prayed,   and  endured, 
waiting  for  his  Witness,  for  the  spreading  of  the 
heavens  and  the  glory  of  the  open  vision,  had  over 
reached  himself  and  was  cast  down. 

When  at  last  he  slowed  his  horse  to  a  walk,  it 
was  the  spring  of  the  day.  The  moon  had  gone, 
and  over  on  his  left  a  soft  grayness  began  to 
show  above  the  line  of  the  hills.  The  light  grew 
until  it  glowed  with  the  fire  of  opals;  through  the 
tree-tops  ran  little  stirs  of  wakefulness,  and  all  about 
him  were  faint,  furtive  rustlings  and  whispers  of 
the  new  day.  Then  in  this  glorified  dusk  of  the 
dawn  a  squirrel  loosed  his  bark  of  alarm,  a  crested 
jay  screamed  in  answer,  and  he  knew  his  hour  of 
atonement  was  come. 

263 


264         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

He  pressed  forward  again  toward  the  desert, 
eager  to  be  on  with  it.  The  page  with  the  wash  of 
blood  across  it  seemed  to  take  on  a  new  vividness  in 
the  stronger  light.  Under  the  stain,  the  letters 
of  the  words  were  magnified  before  his  mind,  — 
"  And  as  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you  —  " 
It  seemed  to  him  that  the  blood  through  which  they 
came  heated  the  words  so  that  they  burned  his 
eyes. 

An  hour  after  daybreak  the  trail  led  him  down 
out  of  the  hills  by  a  little  watercourse  to  the  edge  of 
the  desert.  Along  the  sides  of  this  the  chaparral 
grew  thickly,  and  the  spring  by  which  he  halted 
made  a  little  spot  of  green  at  the  edge  of  the  gray. 
But  out  in  front  of  him  was  the  infinite  stretch  of 
death,  far  sweeps  of  wind-furrowed  sand  burning 
under  a  sun  made  sullen  red  by  the  clouds  of  fine 
dust  in  the  air.  Sparsely  over  the  dull  surface 
grew  the  few  shrubs  that  could  survive  the  heat  and 
dryness,  —  stunted,  unlovely  things  of  burr,  spine, 
thorn,  or  saw-edged  leaf,  —  all  bent  one  way  by  the 
sand  blown  against  them,  —  bristling  cactus  and 
crouching  mesquite  bushes. 

In  the  vast  open  of  the  blue  above,  a  vulture 
wheeled  with  sinister  alertness;  and  far  out  among 
the  dwarfed  growing  things  a  coyote  skulked  know 
ingly.  The  weird,  phantom-like  beauty  of  it  stole 
upon  him,  torn  as  he  was,  while  he  looked  over  the 
dry,  flat  reaches.  It  was  a  good  place  to  die  in, 
this  lifeless  waste  languishing  under  an  angry  sun. 
And  he  knew  how  it  would  come.  Out  to  the  south, 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         265 

as  many  miles  as  he  should  have  strength  to  walk, 
away  from  any  road  or  water-hole,  a  great  thirst 
would  come,  and  then  delirium,  perhaps  bringing 
visions  of  cool  running  water  and  green  trees.  He 
would  hurry  toward  these  madly  until  he  stumbled 
and  fell  and  died.  Then  would  come  those  cynical 
scavengers  of  the  desert,  the  vulture  wheeling  lower, 
the  coyote  skulking  nearer,  pausing  suspiciously  to 
sniff  and  to  see  if  he  moved.  Then  a  few  poor  bones, 
half-buried  by  the  restless  sand,  would  be  left  to 
whiten  and  crumble  into  particles  of  the  same  desert 
dust  he  looked  upon.  As  for  his  soul,  he  shuddered 
to  think  its  dissolution  could  not  also  be  made  as 
sure. 

He  stood  looking  out  a  long  time,  held  by  the 
weak  spirit  of  a  hope  that  some  reprieve  might  come, 
from  within  or  from  on  high.  But  he  saw  only  the 
page  wet  with  blood,  and  the  words  that  burned 
through  it  into  his  eyes;  heard  only  the  cries  of 
women  in  their  death-agony  and  the  stealthy  move 
ments  of  the  bleeding  shapes  behind  him.  There 
was  no  ray  of  hope  to  his  eye  nor  note  of  it  to  his 
ear  —  only  the  cries  and  the  rustlings  back  of  him, 
driving  him  out. 

At  last  he  gave  his  horse  water,  tied  the  bridle- 
rein  to  the  horn  of  the  saddle,  headed  him  back  over 
the  trail  to  the  valley  and  turned  him  loose.  Then, 
after  a  long  look  toward  the  saving  green  of  the 
hills,  he  started  off  through  the  yielding  sand,  his 
face  white  and  haggard  but  hard-set.  He  was  al 
ready  weakened  by  fasting  and  loss  of  sleep,  and  the 


266         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

heat  and  dryness  soon  told  upon  him  as  the  chill 
was  warmed  from  the  morning  air. 

When  he  had  walked  an  hour,  he  felt  he  must 
stop,  at  least  to  rest.  He  looked  back  to  see  how 
far  he  had  come.  He  was  disappointed  by  the 
nearness  of  the  hills;  they  seemed  but  a  stone's 
throw  away.  If  delirium  came  now  he  would 
probably  wander  back  to  the  water.  He  lay  down, 
determining  to  gather  strength  for  many  more  miles. 
The  sand  was  hot  under  him,  and  the  heat  of  a 
furnace  was  above,  but  he  lay  with  his  head  on 
his  arm  and  his  hat  pulled  over  his  face.  Soon  he 
was  half-asleep,  so  that  dreams  would  alternate  with 
flashes  of  consciousness ;  or  sometimes  they  merged, 
so  that  he  would  dream  he  had  wandered  into  a 
desert,  or  that  the  stifling  heat  of  a  desert  came 
to  him  amid  the  snows  of  Echo  Canon.  He  awak 
ened  finally  with  a  cry,  brushing  from  before  his 
eyes  a  mass  of  yellow  hair  that  a  dark  hand  shook 
in  his  face. 

He  sat  up,  looked  about  a  moment,  and  was  on 
his  feet  again  to  the  south,  walking  in  the  full  glare 
of  the  sun,  with  his  shadow  now  straight  behind 
him.  He  went  unsteadily  at  first,  but  soon  felt 
new  vigour  from  his  rest. 

He  walked  another  hour,  then  turned,  and  was 
again  disappointed  —  it  was  such  a  little  distance; 
yet  he  knew  now  he  must  be  too  far  out  to  find  his 
way  back  when  the  madness  came.  So  it  was  with  a 
little  sigh  of  contentment  that  he  lay  down  again 
to  rest  or  to  take  what  might  come. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         267 

Again  he  lay  with  his  head  on  his  arm  in  the 
scorching  sands,  with  his  hat  above  his  face,  and 
again  his  dreams  alternated  with  consciousness  of 
the  desolation  about  him  —  alternated  and  mingled 
so  that  he  no  longer  knew  when  he  did  not  sleep. 
And  again  he  was  tortured  to  wakefulness,  to  thirst, 
and  to  heat,  by  the  yellow  hair  brandished  before 
him. 

He  sat  up  until  he  was  quite  awake,  and  then  sank 
back  upon  the  sand  again,  relieved  to  find  that  he 
felt  too  weak  to  walk  further.  His  mind  had  be 
come  suddenly  cleared  so  that  he  seemed  to  see 
only  realities,  and  those  in  their  just  proportions. 
He  knew  he  had  passed  sentence  of  death  upon  him 
self,  knew  he  had  been  led  to  sin  by  his  own  arro 
gance  of  soul.  It  came  to  him  in  all  its  bare,  hard 
simplicity,  stripped  of  the  illusions  and  conceits  in 
which  his  pride  had  draped  it,  thrusting  sharp  blades 
of  self-condemnation  through  his  heart.  In  that 
moment  he  doubted  all  things.  He  knew  he  had 
sinned  past  his  own  forgiveness,  even  if  pardon  had 
come  from  on  high;  knew  that  no  agony  of  spear 
and  thorns  upon  the  cross  could  avail  to  take  him 
from  the  hell  to  which  his  own  conscience  had  sent 
him. 

He  was  quite  broken.  Not  since  the  long-gone 
night  on  the  river-flat  across  from  Nauvoo  had 
tears  wet  his  eyes.  But  they  fell  now,  and  from 
sheer,  helpless  grief  he  wept.  And  then  for  the 
first  time  in  two  days  he  prayed  —  this  time  the 
prayer  of  the  publican :  — 


268         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner" 

Over  and  over  he  said  the  words,  chokingly, 
watering  the  hot  sands  with  his  tears.  When  the 
paroxysm  had  passed,  it  left  him,  weak  and  prone, 
still  faintly  crying  his  prayer  into  the  sand,  "  O 
God,  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner." 

When  he  had  said  over  the  words  as  long  as 
his  parched  throat  would  let  him,  he  became  quiet. 
To  his  amazement,  some  new,  strange  peace  had 
filled  him.  He  took  it  for  the  peace  of  death.  He 
was  glad  to  think  it  was  coming  so  gently  —  like  a 
kind  mother  soothing  him  to  his  last  sleep. 

His  head  on  his  arm,  his  whole  tired  body  relaxing 
in  this  new  restfulness,  he  opened  his  eyes  and 
looked  off  to  the  south,  idly  scanning  the  horizon, 
his  eyes  level  with  the  sandy  plain.  Then  something 
made  him  sit  quickly  up  and  stare  intently,  his 
bared  head  craning  forward.  To  the  south,  lying 
low,  was  a  mass  of  light  clouds,  volatile,  changing 
with  opalescent  lights  as  he  looked.  A  little  to 
the  left  of  these  clouds,  while  his  head  was  on  the 
sand,  he  thought  his  eyes  had  detected  certain 
squared  lines. 

Now  he  scanned  the  spot  with  a  feverish  eager 
ness.  At  first  there  was  only  the  endless  empty  blue. 
Then,  when  his  wonder  was  quite  dead  and  he  was 
about  to  lie  down,  there  came  a  miracle  of  miracles, 
—  a  vision  in  the  clear  blue  of  the  sky.  And  this 
time  the  lines  were  coherent.  He,  the  dying  sinner, 
had  caught,  clearly  and  positively  for  one  awful 
second  in  that  sky,  the  flashing  impression  of  a 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         269 

cross.  It  faded  as  soon  as  it  came,  vanished  while 
he  gazed,  leaving  him  in  gasping,  fainting  wonder 
at  the  marvel. 

And  then,  before  he  could  think  or  question  him 
self,  the  sky  once  more  yielded  its  vision;  again 
that  image  of  a  cross  stayed  for  a  second  in  his 
eyes,  and  this  time  he  thought  there  were  figures 
about  it.  Some  picture  was  trying  to  show  itself  to 
him.  Still  reaching  his  head  forward,  gazing  fear 
fully,  his  aroused  body  pulsing  swiftly  to  the  wonder 
of  the  thing,  he  began  to  pray  again,  striving  to 
keep  his  excitement  under. 

"  O  God,  have  mercy  on  me,  a  sinner!  " 
Slowly  at  first,  it  grew  before  his  fixed  eyes,  then 
quickly,  so  that  at  the  last  there  was  a  complete 
picture  where  but  an  instant  before  had  been  but 
a  meaningless  mass  of  line  and  colour.  Set  on  a 
hill  were  many  low,  square,  flat-topped  houses, 
brown  in  colour  against  the  gray  ground  about  them. 
In  front  of  these  houses  was  a  larger  structure  of 
the  same  material,  a  church-like  building  such  as  he 
had  once  seen  in  a  picture,  with  a  wooden  cross  at 
the  top.  In  an  open  square  before  this  church  were 
many  moving  persons  strangely  garbed,  seeming 
to  be  Indians.  They  surged  for  a  moment  about 
the  door  of  the  church,  then  parted  to  either  side 
as  if  in  answer  to  a  signal,  and  he  saw  a  procession 
of  the  same  people  coming  with  bowed  heads, 
scourging  themselves  with  short  whips  and  thorned 
branches.  At  their  head  walked  a  brown-cowled 
monk,  holding  aloft  before  him  a  small  cross,  at- 


270         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

tached  by  a  chain  to  his  waist.  As  he  led  the  pro 
cession  forward,  another  crowd,  some  of  them  be 
ing  other  brown-cowled  monks,  parted  before  the 
church  door,  and  there,  clearly  before  his  wonder 
ing  eyes  was  erected  a  great  cross  upon  which  he 
saw  the  crucified  Saviour. 

He  saw  those  in  the  procession  form  about  the 
cross  and  fling  themselves  upon  the  ground  before 
it,  while  all  the  others  round  about  knelt.  He  saw 
the  monk,  standing  alone,  raise  the  smaller  cross  in 
his  hands  above  them,  as  if  in  blessing.  High  above 
it  all,  he  saw  the  crucified  one,  the  head  lying  over 
on  the  shoulder. 

Then  he,  too,  flung  himself  face  down  in  the 
sand,  weeping  hysterically,  calling  wildly,  and  try 
ing  again  to  utter  his  prayer.  Once  more  he  dared 
to  look  up,  in  some  sudden  distrust  of  his  eyes. 
Again  he  saw  the  prostrate  figures,  the  kneeling 
ones  farther  back,  the  brown-cowled  monk  with 
arms  upraised,  and  the  face  of  agony  on  the  cross. 

He  was  down  in  the  sand  again,  now  with  enough 
control  of  himself  to  cry  out  his  prayer  over  and 
over.  When  he  next  looked,  the  vision  was  gone. 
Only  a  few  light  clouds  ruffled  the  southern  horizon. 

He  sank  back  on  the  sands  in  an  ecstasy.  His 
Witness  had  come  —  not  as  he  thought  it  would,  in 
a  moment  of  spiritual  uplift;  but  when  he  had 
been  sunk  by  his  own  sin  to  fearful  depths.  Nor 
had  it  brought  any  message  of  glory  for  himself,  of 
gifts  or  powers.  Only  the  mission  of  suffering  and 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         271 

service  and  suffering  again  at  the  end.  But  it  was 
enough. 

How  long  he  lay  in  the  joy  of  the  realisation  he 
never  knew,  but  sleep  or  faintness  at  last  overcame 
him. 

He  was  revived  by  the  sharp  chill  of  night,  and 
sat  up  to  find  his  mind  clear,  alert,  and  active  with 
new  purposes.  He  had  suffered  greatly  from  thirst, 
so  that  when  he  tried  to  say  a  prayer  of  thanks 
giving  he  could  not  move  his  swollen  tongue.  He 
was  weakened,  too,  but  the  freezing  cold  of  the  desert 
night  aroused  all  his  latent  force.  He  struggled 
to  his  feet,  and  laid  a  course  by  the  light  of  the 
moon  back  to  the  spring  he  had  left  in  the  morning. 
How  he  reached  the  hills  again  he  never  knew,  nor 
how  he  made  his  way  over  them  and  back  to  the 
settlement.  But  there  he  lay  sick  for  many  days,  his 
mind,  when  he  felt  it  at  all,  tossing  idly  upon  the 
great  sustaining  consciousness  of  that  vision  in  the 
desert. 

The  day  which  he  next  remembered  clearly,  and 
from  which  he  dated  his  new  life,  was  one  when 
he  was  back  in  the  Meadows.  He  had  ridden  there 
in  the  first  vagueness  and  weakness  of  his  recovery, 
without  purpose,  yet  feeling  that  he  must  go.  What 
he  found  there  made  him  believe  he  had  been  led 
to  the  spot.  Stark  against  the  glow  of  the  western 
sky  as  he  rode  up,  was  a  huge  cross.  He  stopped, 
staring  in  wonder,  believing  it  to  be  another  vision; 
but  it  stayed  before  him,  rigid,  bare,  and  uncompro 
mising.  He  left  his  horse  and  climbed  up  to  it.  At 


272         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

its  base  was  piled  a  cairn  of  stones,  and  against 
this  was  a  slab  with  an  inscription  :  — 

"  Here   120  Men,  Women,  and  Children  Were 
Massacred    in    Cold    Blood    Early    in    September, 


On  the  cross  itself  was  carved  in  deep  letters  :  — 

"  Vengeance  is  mine  ;  I  will  repay,  saith  the 
Lord." 

He  fell  on  his  knees  at  the  foot  and  prayed,  not 
weeping  nor  in  any  fever  of  fear,  but  as  one  know 
ing  his  sin  and  the  sin  of  his  Church.  The  burden 
of  his  prayer  was,  "  O  God,  my  own  sin  cannot  be 
forgiven  —  I  know  it  well  —  but  let  me  atone  for 
the  sins  of  this  people  and  let  me  guide  them  aright. 
Let  me  die  on  this  cross  a  hundred  deaths  for  each 
life  they  put  out,  or  as  many  more  as  shall  be  needed 
to  save  them." 

He  was  strong  in  his  faith  again,  conscious  that 
he  himself  was  lost,  but  burning  to  save  others, 
and  hopeful,  too,  for  he  believed  that  a  miracle 
had  been  vouchsafed  to  him  in  the  desert. 

Nor  would  the  good  padre,  at  the  head  of  his 
procession  of  penitents  in  his  little  mission  out  across 
the  desert,  have  doubted  less  that  it  was  a  miracle 
than  did  this  unhappy  apostle  of  Joseph  Smith,  had 
he  known  the  circumstance  of  its  timeliness;  albeit 
he  had  become  familiar  with  such  phenomena  of 
light  and  air  in  the  desert. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

The  Sinner  Chastens  himself 

HOW  to  offer  the  greatest  sacrifice  —  how  to 
do  the  greatest  service  —  these  had  become 
his  problems.  He  concerned  himself  no 
longer  with  his  own  exaltation  either  in  this  world 
or  the  world  to  come. 

He  resolved  to  stay  south,  fearing  vaguely  that 
in  the  north  he  would  be  in  conflict  with  the  priest 
hood.  He  knew  not  how ;  he  felt  that  he  was  still 
sound  in  his  faith,  but  he  felt,  too,  some  undefined 
antagonism  between  himself  and  those  who  preached 
in  the  tabernacle.  For  his  home  he  chose  the  settle 
ment  of  Amalon,  set  in  a  rich  little  valley  between 
the  shoulders  of  the  Pine  Mountains. 

Late  in  October  there  was  finished  for  him  on 
the  outer  edge  of  the  town,  near  the  bank  of  a  little 
hill-born  stream,  a  roomy  log-house,  mud-chinked, 
with  a  water-tight  roof  of  spruce  shakes  and  a  floor 
of  whipsawed  plank,  —  a  residence  fit  for  one  of  the 
foremost  teachers  in  the  Church,  an  Elder  after  the 
Order  of  Melchisedek,  an  eloquent  preacher  and  one 
true  to  the  blessed  Gods.  At  one  end  of  the  cabin,  a 

273 


274         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

small  room  was  partitioned  off  and  a  bunk  built  in 
it.  A  chair  and  a  water-basin  on  a  block  comprised 
its  furniture.  This  room  he  reserved  for  himself. 

As  to  the  rest  of  the  house,  his  ideas  were  at  first 
cloudy.  He  knew  only  that  he  wished  to  serve. 
Gradually,  however,  as  his  mind  worked  over  the 
problem,  the  answer  came  with  considerable  clear 
ness.  He  thought  about  it  much  on  his  way  north, 
for  he  was  obliged  to  make  the  trip  to  Salt  Lake 
City  to  secure  supplies  for  the  winter,  some  needed 
articles  of  furniture  for  the  house,  and  his  wagons 
and  stock. 

He  was  helped  in  his  thinking  on  a  day  early  in 
the  journey.  Near  a  squalid  hut  on  the  outskirts  of 
Cedar  City  he  noticed  a  woman  staggering  under 
an  armful  of  wood.  She  was  bareheaded,  with 
hair  disordered,  her  cheeks  hollowed,  and  her  skin 
yellow  and  bloodless.  He  remembered  the  tale  he 
had  heard  when  he  came  down.  He  thought  she 
must  be  that  wife  of  Bishop  Snow  who  had  been 
put  away.  He  rode  up  to  the  cabin  as  the  woman 
threw  her  wood  inside.  She  was  weak  and 
wretched-looking  in  the  extreme. 

"  I  am  Elder  Rae.  I  want  to  know  if  you  would 
care  to  go  to  Amalon  with  me  when  I  come  back.  If 
you  do,  you  can  have  a  home  there  as  long  as  you 
like.  It  would  be  easier  for  you  than  here." 

She  had  looked  up  quickly  at  him  in  much  em 
barrassment.  She  smiled  a  little  when  he  had  fin 
ished. 

"  I'm  not  much  good  to  work,  but  I  think  I'd 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         275 

get  stronger  if  I  had  plenty  to  eat.  I  used  to  be 
right  strong  and  well." 

"  I  shall  be  along  with  my  wagons  in  two  weeks 
or  a  little  more.  If  you  will  go  with  me  then  I 
would  like  to  have  you.  Here,  here  is  money  to 
buy  you  food  until  I  come." 

"  You've  heard  about  me,  have  you  —  that  I'm 
a  divorced  woman  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  know." 

She  looked  down  at  the  ground  a  moment,  pon 
dering,  then  up  at  him  with  sudden  resolution. 

"  I  can't  work  hard  and  —  I'm  not  —  pretty  any 
longer  —  why  do  you  want  to  marry  me?" 

Her  question  made  him  the  more  embarrassed  of 
the  two,  and  she  saw  as  much,  but  she  could  not 
tell  why  it  was. 

"  Why,"  he  stammered,  "why,  —  you  see  —  but 
never  mind.  I  must  hurry  on  now.  In  about  two 
weeks  —  "  And  he  put  the  spurs  so  viciously  to 
his  horse  that  he  was  nearly  unseated  by  the  startled 
animal's  leap. 

Off  on  the  open  road  again  he  thought  it  out. 
Marriage  had  not  been  in  his  mind  when  he  spoke 
to  the  woman.  He  had  meant  only  to  give  her  a 
home.  But  to  her  the  idea  had  come  naturally  from 
his  words,  and  he  began  to  see  that  it  was,  indeed, 
not  an  unnatural  thing  to  do.  He  dwelt  long  on  this 
new  idea,  picturing  at  intervals  the  woman's  lack 
of  any  charm  or  beauty,  her  painful  emaciation,  her 
weakness. 

Passing  through  another  village  later  in  the  day, 


276         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

he  saw  the  youth  who  had  been  so  unfortunate  as 
to  love  this  girl  in  defiance  of  his  Bishop.  Unmo 
lested  for  the  time,  the  imbecile  would  go  briskly 
a  few  steps  and  then  pause  with  an  important  air 
of  the  deepest  concern,  as  if  he  were  engaged  on  an 
errand  of  grave  moment.  He  was  thinly  clad  and 
shivering  in  the  chill  of  the  late  October  afternoon. 

Again,  still  later  in  the  day,  he  overtook  and 
passed  the  gaunt,  gray  woman  who  forever  sought 
her  husband.  She  was  smiling  as  he  passed  her. 
Then  his  mind  was  made  up. 

As  he  entered  Brigham's  office  in  Salt  Lake  City 
some  days  later,  there  passed  out  by  the  same  door 
a  woman  whom  he  seemed  dimly  to  remember.  The 
left  half  of  her  face  was  disfigured  by  a  huge  flam 
ing  scar,  and  he  saw  that  she  had  but  one  hand. 

"Who  was  that  woman?"  he  asked  Brigham, 
after  they  had  chatted  a  little  of  other  matters. 

"  That's  poor  Christina  Lund.  You  ought  to 
remember  her.  She  was  in  your  hand-cart  party. 
She's  having  a  pretty  hard  time  of  it.  You  see, 
she  froze  off  one  hand,  so  now  she  can't  work  much, 
and  then  she  froze  her  face,  so  she  ain't  much  for 
looks  any  longer  —  in  fact,  I  wouldn't  say  Christina 
was  much  to  start  with,  judging  from  the  half  of 
her  face  that's  still  good  —  and  so,  of  course,  she 
hasn't  been  able  to  marry.  The  Church  helps  her 
a  little  now  and  then,  but  what  troubles  her  most 
is  that  she'll  lose  her  glory  if  she  ain't  married.  You 
see,  she  ain't  a  worker  and  she  ain't  handsome,  so 
who's  going  to  have  her  sealed  to  him  ?  " 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         277 

"  I  remember  her  now.  She  pushed  the  cart  with 
her  father  in  it  from  the  Platte  crossing,  at  Fort 
Laramie,  clear  over  to  Echo  Canon,  when  all  the 
fingers  of  one  hand  came  off  on  the  bar  of  the  cart 
one  afternoon ;  and  then  her  hand  had  to  be  ampu 
tated.  Brother  Brigham,  she  shouldn't  be  cheated 
of  her  place  in  the  Kingdom." 

"  Well,  she  ain't  capable,  and  she  ain't  a  pretty 
person,  so  what  can  she  do  ?  " 

"  I  believe  if  the  Lord  is  willing  I  will  have  her 
sealed  to  me." 

"  It  will  be  your  own  doings,  Brother  Rae.  I 
wouldn't  take  it  on  myself  to  counsel  that  woman 
to  anybody." 

"  I  feel  I  must  do  it,  Brother  Brigham." 

"  Well,  so  be  it  if  you  say.  She  can  be  sealed 
to  you  and  be  a  star  in  your  crown  forever.  But 
I  hope,  now  that  you've  begun  to  build  up  your 
kingdom,  you'll  do  a  little  better,  next  time.  There's 
a  lot  of  pretty  good-looking  young  women  came  in 
with  a  party  yesterday  —  " 

"  All  in  good  time,  Brother  Brigham !  If  you're 
willing,  I'll  pick  up  my  second  on  the  way  south." 

"  Well,  well,  now  that's  good !  "  and  the  broad 
face  of  Brigham  glowed  with  friendly  enthusiasm. 
"  You  know  I'd  suspicioned  more  than  once  that 
you  wasn't  overly  strong  on  the  doctrinal  point  of 
celestial  marriage.  I  hope  your  second,  Brother 
Joel,  is  a  little  fancier  than  this  one." 

"  She'll  be  a  better  worker,"  he  replied. 

"  Well,  they're  the  most  satisfactory  in  the  long 


278         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

run.  I've  found  that  out  myself.  At  any  rate,  it's 
best  to  lay  the  foundations  of  your  kingdom  with 
workers,  the  plainer  the  better.  After  that,  a  man 
can  afford  something  in  the  ornamental  line  now 
and  then.  Now,  I'll  send  for  Christina  and  tell 
her  what  luck  she's  in.  She  hasn't  had  her  endow 
ments  yet,  so  you  might  as  well  go  through  those 
with  her.  Be  at  the  endowment-house  at  five  in 
the  morning." 

And  so  it  befell  that  Joel  Rae,  Elder  after  the 
Order  of  Melchisedek,  and  Christina  Lund,  spinster, 
native  of  Denmark,  were  on  the  following  day,  after 
the  endowment-rites  had  been  administered,  married 
for  time  and  eternity. 

At  the  door  of  the  endowment-house  they  were 
separated  and  taken  to  rooms,  where  each  was 
bathed  and  anointed  with  oil  poured  from  a  horn. 
A  priest  then  ordained  them  to  be  king  and  queen 
in  time  and  eternity.  After  this,  they  were  con 
ducted  to  a  large  apartment,  and  left  in  silence  for 
some  moments.  Then  voices  were  heard,  the  voice 
of  Elohim  in  converse  with  Jehovah.  They  were 
heard  to  declare  their  intention  of  visiting  the  earth, 
and  this  they  did,  pronouncing  it  good,  but  deciding 
that  one  of  a  higher  order  was  needed  to  govern 
the  brutes.  Michael,  the  Archangel,  was  then  called 
and  placed  on  earth  under  the  name  of  Adam,  re 
ceiving  power  over  the  beasts,  and  being  made  free 
to  eat  of  the  fruit  of  every  tree  but  one.  This  tree 
was  a  small  evergreen,  with  bunches  of  raisins  tied 
to  its  branches. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         279 

Discovering  that  it  was  not  good  for  man  to  be 
alone,  Brigham,  as  God,  then  caused  a  sleep  to  fall 
upon  Adam,  and  fashioned  Eve  from  one  of  his 
ribs.  Then  the  Devil  entered,  in  black  silk  knee- 
breeches,  approaching  with  many  blandishments  the 
woman  who  was  enacting  the  role  of  Eve.  The 
sin  followed,  and  the  expulsion  from  the  garden. 

After  this  impressive  spectacle,  Joel  and  the  rap 
turous  Christina  were  taught  many  signs,  grips,  and 
passwords,  without  which  one  may  not  pass  by 
the  gatekeepers  of  heaven.  They  were  sworn  also 
to  avenge  the  murder  of  Joseph  Smith  upon  the 
Gentiles  who  had  done  it,  and  to  teach  their  children 
to  do  the  same;  to  obey  without  questioning  or 
murmur  the  commands  of  the  priesthood ;  and  never 
to  reveal  these  secret  rites  under  penalty  of  having 
their  throats  cut  from  ear  to  ear  and  their  hearts 
and  tongues  cut  out. 

When  this  oath  had  been  taken,  they  passed  into 
a  room  containing  a  long,  low  altar  covered  with 
red  velvet.  At  one  end,  in  an  armchair,  sat  Brig- 
ham,  no  longer  in  the  role  of  God,  but  in  his  proper 
person  of  Prophet,  Seer,  and  Revelator.  They 
knelt  on  either  side  of  this  altar,  and,  with  hands 
clasped  above  it  in  the  secret  grip  last  given  to  them, 
they  were  sealed  for  time  and  eternity. 

From  the  altar  they  went  to  the  wagons  and  began 
their  journey  south.  Christina  came  out  of  the  en 
dowment-house,  glowing,  as  to  one  side  of  her  face. 
She  was,  also,  in  a  state  of  daze  that  left  her  able 
to  say  but  little.  Proud  and  happy  and  silent,  her 


280         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

sole  remark,  the  first  day  of  the  trip,  was :  "  Brig- 
ham  —  now  —  he  make  such  a  lovely,  bee-yoo-tiful 
God  in  heaven !  " 

Nor,  it  soon  appeared,  was  she  ever  talkative. 
The  second  day,  too,  she  spoke  but  once,  which  was 
when  a  sudden  heavy  shower  swept  down  from  the 
hills  and  caught  her  some  distance  from  the  wagons, 
helping  to  drive  the  cattle.  Then,  although  she 
was  drenched,  she  only  said :  "  It  make  down  some- 
t'ing,  It'ink!" 

For  this  taciturnity  her  husband  was  devoutly 
thankful.  He  had  married  her  to  secure  her  place 
in  the  Kingdom  and  a  temporal  home,  and  not  other 
wise  did  he  wish  to  be  concerned  about  her.  He  was 
glad  to  note,  however,  that  she  seemed  to  be  of 
a  happy  disposition;  which  he  did  at  certain  times 
when  her  eyes  beamed  upon  him  from  a  face  radiant 
with  gratitude. 

But  his  work  of  service  had  only  begun.  As 
they  went  farther  south  he  began  to  make  inquiries 
for  the  wandering  wife  of  Elder  Tench.  He  came 
upon  her  at  length  as  she  was  starting  north  from 
Beaver  at  dusk.  He  prevailed  upon  her  to  stop 
with  his  party. 

"  I  don't  mind  to-night,  sir,  but  I  must  be  off 
betimes  in  the  morning." 

But  in  the  morning  he  persuaded  her  to  stay 
with  them. 

"  Your  husband  is  out  of  the  country  now,  but 
he's  coming  back  soon,  and  he  will  stop  first  at 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         281 

my  house  when  he  does  come.  So  stay  with  me 
there  and  wait  for  him." 

She  was  troubled  by  this  at  first,  but  at  last 
agreed. 

"  If  you're  sure  he  will  come  there  first  —  " 

She  refused  to  ride  in  the  wagon,  ho\vever,  pre 
ferring  to  walk,  and  strode  briskly  all  day  in  the 
wake  of  the  cattle. 

At  Parowan  he  made  inquiries  for  Tom  Potwin, 
that  other  derelict,  and  was  told  that  he  had  gone 
south.  Him,  too,  they  overtook  on  the  road  next 
day,  and  persuaded  to  go  with  them  to  a  home. 

When  they  reached  Cedar  City  a  halt  was  made 
while  he  went  for  the  other  woman  —  not  without 
some  misgiving,  for  he  remembered  that  she  was 
still  young.  But  his  second  view  of  her  reassured 
him  —  the  sallow,  anemic  face,  the  skin  drawn 
tightly  over  the  cheek-bones,  the  drooping  shoulders, 
the  thin,  forlorn  figure.  Even  the  certainty  that 
her  life  of  hardship  was  ended,  that  she  was  at  least 
sure  not  to  die  of  privation,  had  failed  to  call  out 
any  radiance  upon  her.  They  were  married  by 
a  local  Bishop,  Joel's  first  wife  placing  the  hand 
of  the  second  in  his  own,  as  the  ceremony  required. 
Then  with  his  wives,  his  charges,  his  wagons,  and 
his  cattle  he  continued  on  to  the  home  he  had  made 
at  the  edge  of  Amalon. 

Among  the  women  there  was  no  awkwardness 
or  inharmony;  they  had  all  suffered;  and  the  two 
wives  tactfully  humoured  the  whims  of  the  insane 


282         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

woman.  On  the  day  they  reached  home,  the  hus 
band  took  them  to  the  door  of  his  own  little  room. 

"  All  that  out  there  is  yours,"  he  said.  "  Make 
the  best  arrangements  you  can.  This  is  my  place; 
neither  of  you  must  ever  come  in  here." 

They  busied  themselves  in  unpacking  the  supplies 
that  had  been  brought,  and  making  the  house  home 
like.  The  big  gray  woman  had  already  gone  down 
the  road  toward  the  settlement  to  watch  for  her 
husband,  promising,  however,  to  return  at  night 
fall.  The  other  derelict  helped  the  women  in  their 
work,  doing  with  a  childish  pleasure  the  things 
they  told  him  to  do.  The  second  wife  occasionally 
paused  in  her  tasks  to  look  at  him  from  eyes  that 
were  lighted  to  strange  depths;  but  he  had  for  her 
only  the  unconcerned,  unknowing  look  that  he  had 
for  the  others. 

At  night  the  master  of  the  house,  when  they 
had  assembled,  instructed  them  briefly  in  the  three 
fold  character  of  the  Godhead.  Then,  when  he  had 
made  a  short  prayer,  he  bade  them  good  night  and 
went  to  his  room.  Here  he  permitted  himself  a  long 
look  at  the  fair  young  face  set  in  the  little  gilt 
oval  of  the  rubber  case.  Then,  as  if  he  had  for 
gotten  himself,  he  fell  contritely  to  his  knees  beside 
the  bunk  and  prayed  that  this  face  might  never  re 
mind  him  of  aught  but  his  sin ;  that  he  might  have 
cross  after  cross  added  to  his  burden  until  the  weight 
should  crush  him ;  and  that  this  might  atone,  not  for 
his  own  sins,  which  must  be  punished  everlastingly, 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         283 

but  in  some  measure  for  the  sins  of  his  misguided 
people. 

In  the  outer  room  his  wives,  sitting  together  be 
fore  the  big  fireplace,  were  agreeing  that  he  was  a 
good  man. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

The  Coming  of  the  Woman-Child 

THE  next  day  he  sent  across  the  settlement 
for  the  child,   waiting   for  her  with  mixed 
emotions,  —  a  trembling  merge  of  love  and 
fear,  with  something,  indeed,  of  awe  for  this  woman- 
child  of  her  mother,  who  had  come  to  him  so  de 
viously  and  with  a  secret  significance  so  mighty  of 
portent  to  his  own  soul.     When  they  brought  her 
in  at  last,  he  had  to  brace  himself  to  meet  her. 

She  came  and  stood  before  him,  one  foot  a  little 
advanced,  several  dolls  clutched  tightly  under  one 
arm,  and  her  bonnet  swinging  in  the  other  hand. 
She  looked  up  at  him  fearlessly,  questioningly,  but 
with  no  sign  of  friendliness.  He  saw  and  felt  her 
mother  in  all  her  being,  in  her  eyes  and  hair,  in 
the  lines  of  her  soft  little  face,  and  indefinably  in 
her  way  of  standing  or  moving.  He  was  seized 
with  a  sudden  fear  that  the  mother  watched  him 
secretly  out  of  the  child's  eyes,  and  with  the  child's 
lips  might  call  to  him  accusingly,  with  what  wild 
cries  of  anguish  and  reproach  he  dared  not  guess. 

284 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         285 

He  strove  to  say  something  to  her,  but  his  lips 
were  dry,  and  he  made  only  some  half-articulate 
sound,  trying  to  force  a  smile  of  assurance. 

Then  the  child  spoke,  her  serious,  questioning  eyes 
upon  him  unwaveringly. 

"  Are  you  a  damned  Mormon?  " 

It  broke  the  spell  of  awe  that  had  lain  upon  him, 
so  that  he  felt  for  the  moment  only  a  pious  horror 
of  her  speech.  He  called  Christina  to  take  charge 
of  her,  and  Martha,  the  second  wife,  to  put  away 
her  little  bundle  of  clothing,  and  Tom  Potwin  to 
fetch  water  for  her  bath.  He  himself  went  to  be 
alone  where  he  could  think  what  must  be  done 
for  her.  From  an  entry  in  the  little  Bible,  written 
in  letters  that  seemed  to  shout  to  him  the  accusation 
of  his  crime,  he  had  found  that  she  must  now  be 
five  years  old.  It  was  plainly  time  that  he  should 
begin  to  supply  her  very  apparent  need  of  religious 
instruction. 

When  she  had  become  a  little  used  to  her  sur 
roundings  later  in  the  day,  he  sought  to  beguile 
her  to  this  end,  beginning  diplomatically  with  other 
matters. 

"  Come,  tell  me  your  name,  dear." 

She  allowed  her  attention  to  be  diverted  from 
her  largest  doll. 

"  My  name  is  Prudence  —  "     She  hesitated. 

"  Prudence  — what?" 

"I  —  I  lost  my  mind  of  it."  She  looked  at  him 
hopefully,  to  be  prompted. 

"  Prudence  Rae." 


286         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

She  repeated  the  name,  doubtingly,  "  Prudence 
Rae?" 

"  Yes  —  remember  now  —  Prudence  Rae.  You 
are  my  little  girl  —  Prudence  Rae." 

"  But  you're  not  my  really  papa  —  he's  went  far 
off  —  oh,  ten  ninety  miles  far!  " 

"  No,  Prudence  —  God  is  your  Father  in  heaven, 
and  I  am  your  father  on  earth  —  " 

"  But  not  my  papa! " 

"•Listen,  Prudence  —  do  you  know  what  you 
are?" 

The  puzzled  look  she  had  worn  fled  instantly 
from  her  face. 

"  I'm  a  generation  of  vipers." 

She  made  the  announcement  with  a  palpable  ring 
of  elation  in  her  tones,  looking  at  him  proudly,  and 
as  if  waiting  to  hear  expressions  of  astonishment 
and  delight. 

"  Child,  child,  who  has  told  you  such  things  ?  You 
are  not  that!  " 

She  retorted,  indignantly  now,  the  lines  drawing 
about  her  eyes  in  signal  of  near-by  tears : 

"  I  am  a  generation  of  vipers  —  the  Bishop  said 
I  was  —  he  told  that  other  mamma,  and  I  am  it !  " 

"  Well,  well,  don't  cry  —  all  right  —  you  shall 
be  it  —  but  I  can  tell  you  something  much  nicer." 
He  assumed  a  knowing  air,  as  one  who  withheld 
knowledge  of  overwhelming  fascinations. 

"Tell  me  —  what?" 

And  so,  little  by  little,  hardly  knowing  where  to 
begin,  but  feeling  that  any  light  whatsoever  must 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         287 

profit  a  soul  so  benighted,  he  began  to  teach  her. 
When  she  had  been  put  to  bed  at  early  candle-light, 
he  went  to  see  if  she  remembered  her  lesson. 

"  What  is  the  name  of  God  in  pure  language?  " 
And  she  answered,  with  zest,  "  Ahman." 
"  What  is  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God?  " 
"  Son   Ahman,  —  the  greatest  of  all   the  parts 
of  God  excepting  Ahman." 
"  What  is  the  name  of  man  ?  " 
"  Sons  Ahman." 

"  That  is  good  —  my  little  girl  shall  be  chosen 
of  the  Lord." 

He  waited  by  her  until  sleep  should  come,  but 
her  mind  had  been  stirred,  and  long  after  he  thought 
she  slept  she  startled  him  by  asking,  in  a  voice  of 
entire  wakefulness :  "  If  I  am  a  good  little  girl, 
and  learn  all  the  right  things  —  then  can  I  be  a 
generation  of  vipers?"  She  lingered  with  relish 
on  the  phrase,  giving  each  syllable  with  distinctness 
and  gusto.  When  he  was  sure  that  she  slept,  he 
leaned  over  very  carefully  and  kissed  the  pillow 
beside  her  head. 

In  the  days  that  followed  he  wooed  her  patiently, 
seeking  constantly  to  find  some  favour  with  her, 
and  grateful  beyond  words  when  he  succeeded  ever 
so  little.  At  first,  he  could  win  but  slight  notice 
of  any  sort  from  her,  and  that  only  at  rare  and 
uncertain  intervals.  But  gradually  his  unobtrusive 
efforts  told,  and,  little  by  little,  she  began  to  take 
him  into  her  confidence.  The  first  day  she  invited 
him  to  play  with  her  in  one  of  her  games  was  a 


288         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

day  of  rejoicing  for  him.  She  showed  him  the 
dolls. 

"  Now,  this  is  the  mother  and  this  is  the  little 
baby  of  it,  and  we  will  have  a  tea-party/' 

She  drew  up  a  chair,  placed  the  two  dolls  under 
it,  and  pointed  to  the  opening  between  the  rungs. 

"  Here  is  the  house,  and  here  is  a  little  door  where 
to  go  in  at.  You  must  be  very,  very  particul-yar 
when  you  go  in.  Now  what  shall  we  cook?  "  And 
she  clasped  her  hands,  looking  up  at  him  with  wait 
ing  eagerness. 

He  suggested  cake  and  tea.  But  this  answer 
proved  to  be  wrong. 

"Oh,  no!"  —  there  was  scorn  in  her  tones  — 
"  buffalo-hump  and  marrowbones  and  vebshtulls  and 
lemon-coffee." 

He  received  the  suggestion  cordially,  and  tried 
to  fall  in  with  it,  but  she  soon  detected  that  his 
mind  was  not  pliable  enough  for  the  game.  She 
was  compelled  at  last  to  dismiss  him,  though  she 
accomplished  the  ungracious  thing  tactfully. 

"  Perhaps  you  have  some  farming  to  do  out  at 
the  barn,  because  my  dollies  can't  be  very  well  with 
you  at  a  tea-party,  because  you  are  too  much." 

But  she  had  shown  a  purpose  of  friendliness,  and 
this  sufficed  him.  And  that  night,  before  her  bed 
time,  when  he  sat  in  front  of  the  fire,  she  came  with 
a  most  matter-of-fact  unconsciousness  to  climb  into 
his  lap.  He  held  her  a  long  time,  trying  to  breathe 
gently  and  not  daring  to  move  lest  he  make  her 
uncomfortable.  Her  head  pillowed  on  his  arm,  she 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         289 

was  soon  asleep,  and  he  refused  to  give  her  up 
when  Martha  came  to  put  her  to  bed. 

Though  their  intimacy  grew  during  the  winter, 
so  that  she  called  him  her  father  and  came  con 
fidingly  to  him  at  all  times,  in  tears  or  in  laughter, 
yet  he  never  ceased  to  feel  an  aloofness  from  her, 
an  awkwardness  in  her  presence,  a  fear  that  the 
mother  who  looked  from  her  eyes  might  at  any 
moment  call  to  him. 

That  winter  was  also  a  time  for  the  other  members 
of  the  household  to  adapt  themselves  to  their  new 
life.  The  two  wives  attended  capably  to  the  house. 
The  imbecile  boy,  who  had  once  loved  one  of  them 
to  his  own  undoing,  but  who  no  longer  knew  her, 
helped  them  a  little  with  the  work,  though  for  the 
most  part  he  busied  himself  by  darting  off  upon 
mysterious  and  important  errands  which  he  would 
appear  to  recall  suddenly,  but  which,  to  his  bewilder 
ment,  he  seemed  never  able  to  finish.  The  other 
member  of  the  household,  Delight  Tench,  the  gaunt, 
gray  woman,  still  made  sallies  out  to  the  main  road 
to  search  for  her  deceived  husband ;  but  they  taught 
her  after  a  little  never  to  go  far  from  the  settlement, 
and  to  come  back  to  her  home  each  night. 

During  the  winter  evenings,  when  they  sat  about 
the  big  fireplace,  the  master  of  the  house  taught 
them  the  mysteries  of  the  Kingdom  as  revealed  by 
God  to  Joseph,  and  then  to  Brigham,  who  had  been 
chosen  by  Joseph  as  was  Joshua  by  Moses  to  be  a 
prophet  and  leader. 

In  time  Brigham  would  be  gathered  to  his  Father, 


290         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

and  in  the  celestial  Kingdom,  his  wives  having  been 
sealed  to  him  for  eternity,  he  would  beget  millions 
and  myriads  of  spirits.  During  this  period  of  in 
crease  he  would  grow  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Gods, 
learning  how  to  make  matter  take  the  form  he  de 
sired.  Noting  the  vast  increase  in  his  family,  he 
would  then  say :  "  Let  us  go  and  make  a  world 
upon  which  my  family  of  spirits  may  live  in  bodies 
of  grosser  matter,  and  so  gain  valuable  experience." 

At  the  word  of  command,  thereupon  spoken  by 
Brigham,  the  elements  would  come  together  in  a  new 
world.  This  he  would  beautify,  planting  seeds  upon 
it,  telling  the  waters  where  to  flow,  placing  fishes 
in  them,  putting  fowls  in  the  air  and  beasts  in  the 
field.  Then,  calling  it  all  good,  he  would  say  to 
his  favourite  wife :  "  Let  us  go  down  and  inhabit 
this  new  home."  And  they  would  go  down,  to  be 
called  Adam  and  Eve  by  some  future  Moses. 

Eve  would  presently  be  tempted  by  Satan  to  eat 
fruit  from  the  one  tree  they  had  been  forbidden  to 
touch,  and  Brigham  as  Adam  would  then  partake 
of  it,  too,  so  she  should  not  have  to  suffer  alone. 
In  a  thousand  years  they  would  die,  after  raising 
many  tabernacles  of  flesh  into  which  their  spirit 
children  from  the  celestial  world  would  have  come 
to  find  abode. 

Brigham,  going  back  to  the  celestial  world,  would 
keep  watch  over  these  earthly  children  of  his.  Yet 
in  their  fallen  nature  they  would  in  time  forget 
their  father  Brigham,  the  world  whence  they  came, 
and  the  world  whither  they  were  going.  Sometimes 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         291 

he  would  send  messages  to  the  purest  of  them,  and 
at  all  times  he  would  keep  as  near  to  them  as  they 
would  let  him.  At  last  he  would  lay  a  plan  to 
bring  them  all  again  into  his  presence.  For  he 
would  now  have  become  the  God  they  should  wor 
ship.  He  would  send  to  these  children  of  earth  his 
oldest  son,  entrusted  with  the  mission  of  redeeming 
them,  and  only  faith  in  the  name  of  this  son  would 
secure  the  favour  of  the  father. 

Joel  Rae  instructed  his  wondering  household, 
further,  that  such  glory  as  this  would  be  reserved, 
not  for  Brigham  alone,  but  for  the  least  of  the 
Saints.  Each  Saint  would  progress  to  Godhead, 
and  go  down  with  his  Eve  to  make  and  people 
worlds  without  end.  This,  he  explained,  was  why 
God  had  made  space  to  be  infinite,  since  nothing 
less  could  have  room  for  the  numberless  seed  of 
man.  In  conclusion,  he  gave  them  the  words  of  the 
Heaven-gifted  Brigham :  "  Let  all  who  hear  these 
doctrines  pause  before  they  make  light  of  them  or 
treat  them  with  indifference,  for  they  will  prove  your 
salvation  or  your  damnation." 

Yet  often  during  that  winter  while  he  talked 
these  doctrines  he  would  find  his  mind  wandering, 
and  there  would  come  before  his  eyes  a  little  printed 
page  with  a  wash  of  blood  across  it,  and  he  would 
be  forced  to  read  in  spite  of  himself  the  verses  that 
were  magnified  before  his  eyes.  The  priesthood  of 
which  he  was  a  product  dealt  but  little  with  the 
New  Testament.  They  taught  from  the  Old  almost 


292         THE  LIONS   OF  THE  LORD 

wholly,  when  they  went  outside  the  Book  of  Mor 
mon  and  the  revelations  to  Joseph  Smith  —  of  the 
God  of  Israel  who  was  a  God  of  Battle,  loving  the 
reek  of  blood  and  the  smell  of  burnt  flesh  on  an 
altar  —  rather  than  of  the  God  of  the  Nazarene. 

He  found  himself  turning  to  this  New  Testa 
ment,  therefore,  with  a  curious  feeling  of  interest 
and  surprise,  dwelling  long  at  a  time  upon  its  few, 
simple,  forthright  teachings,  being  moved  by  them 
in  ways  he  did  not  comprehend,  and  finding  cer 
tain  of  the  dogmas  of  his  Church  sounding  strangely 
in  his  ears  even  when  his  own  lips  were  teaching 
them. 

One  of  the  verses  he  especially  dreaded  to  see 
come  before  him :  "  But  whoso  shall  offend  one  of 
these  little  ones  which  believe  in  me,  it  were  better 
for  him  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  his  neck, 
and  that  he  were  drowned  in  the  depth  of  the  sea." 
He  taught  the  child  to  pray,  "  O  God,  let  my  father 
have  due  punishment  for  all  his  sins,  but  teach  him 
never  to  offend  any  little  child  from  this  day  forth." 

He  used  to  listen  for  this  and  to  be  soothed  when 
he  heard  it.  Sometimes  the  words  would  come  to 
him  when  he  was  shut  in  his  room;  for  if  neither 
of  the  women  was  by  her  when  she  prayed,  it  was 
her  custom  to  raise  her  voice  as  high  as  she  could, 
in  the  belief  that  otherwise  her  prayer  would  not 
be  heard  by  the  Power  she  addressed.  In  high, 
piping  tones  this  petition  for  himself  would  come 
through  his  door,  following  always  after  the  re- 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD 


293 


quest  that  the  Lord  would  bless  Brigham  Young 
in  his  basket  and  in  his  store,  multiplying  and  in 
creasing  him  in  wives,  children,  flocks  and  herds, 
houses  and  lands. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

The  Entablature  of  Truth  Makes  a  Discovery  at 
Amalon 

THE  house  of  Rae  became  a  house  of  impor 
tance    in    the   little    settlement   in    the    Pine 
Valley.     It  was  not  only  the  home  of  the 
highest  Church  official  in  the  community,  but  it  was 
the  largest  and  best-furnished  house,  so  that  visit 
ing  dignitaries  stayed  there.     It  stood  a  little  way 
from  the  loose-edged  group  of  cabins  that  formed 
the  nucleus  of  the  settlement,  on  ground  a  little 
higher,  and  closer  to  the  wooded  canon  that  gashed 
the  hills  on  the  east. 

The  style  of  house  most  common  in  the  village 
was  long,  low-roofed,  of  hewn  logs,  its  front  pierced 
by  alternating  doors  and  windows.  From  the  num 
ber  of  these  might  usually  be  inferred  the  owner's 
current  prospects  for  glory  in  the  Kingdom;  for 
behind  each  door  would  be  a  wife  to  exalt  him,  and 
to  be  exalted  herself  thereby  in  the  sole  way  open  to 
her,  to  thrones,  dominion,  and  power  in  the  celestial 
world.  There  were  many  of  these  long,  profusely 
doored  houses;  but  many,  too,  of  less  external 

294 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         295 

promise;  of  two  doors  or  even  one.  Yet  in  a  hut 
of  one  door  a  well-wived  Saint  might  be  building 
up  the  Kingdom  temporarily,  until  he  could  provide 
a  more  spacious  setting  for  the  several  stars  in  his 
crown. 

Then  there  was  the  capable  Bishop  Wright,  whose 
long  domestic  barracks  were  the  first  toward  the 
main  road  beyond  Bishop  Coltrin's  modest  two- 
doored  hut.  The  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains, 
having  lately  been  sealed  to  his  twelfth  wife,  and 
having  no  suitable  apartment  for  her,  had  ingen 
iously  contrived  a  sleeping-place  in  a  covered  wagon- 
box  at  the  end  of  the  house,  —  an  apartment  which 
was  now  being  occupied,  not  without  some  ungrace 
ful  remonstrance,  by  his  first  wife,  a  lady  somewhat 
far  down  in  the  vale  of  years  and  long  past  the  first 
glamour  of  her  enthusiasm  for  the  Kingdom.  It 
had  been  her  mischance  to  occupy  previously  in  the 
community-house  that  apartment  which  the  good 
man  saw  to  be  most  suitable  for  his  young  and 
somewhat  fastidious  bride.  Not  without  make 
shifts,  indeed,  many  of  which  partook  of  this  in 
felicity,  was  the  celestial  order  of  marriage  to  be 
obeyed  and  the  world  brought  back  to  its  primitive 
purity  and  innocence. 

And  of  all  persons  in  any  degree  distressed  about 
these  or  other  matters  of  faith,  Joel  Rae  was  made 
the  first  confidant  and  chief  comforter.  In  the  case 
just  cited,  for  example,  Bishop  Wright  had  con 
fessed  to  him  that,  if  anything  could  make  him 
break  asunder  the  cable  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  it 


296         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

would  be  the  perplexity  inevitable  to  a  maintenance 
of  domestic  harmony  under  the  celestial  order. 
The  first  wife  also  distressed  this  adviser  with  a 
moving  tale  of  her  expulsion  from  a  comfortable 
room  into  the  incommodious  wagon-box. 

Many  of  these  confidences,  as  the  days  went  by, 
he  found  spirit-grieving  in  the  extreme,  so  that 
he  was  often  weary  and  longed  for  refuge  in  a 
wilderness.  Yet  he  never  failed  to  let  fall  some 
word  that  might  be  monitory  or  profitable  to  those 
who  took  him  their  troubles;  nor  did  he  forget  to 
exult  in  these  burdens  that  were  put  upon  him,  for 
he  had  resolved  that  his  cross  should  be  made  as 
heavy  as  he  could  bear. 

In  addition  to  his  duties  as  spiritual  adviser  to  the 
community,  it  was  his  office  to  preach ;  also  to  hold 
himself  at  the  call  of  the  afflicted,  to  anoint  their 
heads  with  oil  and  rebuke  their  fevers.  He  took 
an  especial  pleasure  in  this  work  of  healing,  being 
glad  to  leave  his  fields  by  day  or  his  bed  by  night 
for  the  sickroom.  By  couches  of  suffering  he 
watched  and  prayed,  and  when  they  began  to  say 
in  Amalon  that  his  word  of  rebuke  to  fevers  came 
with  strange  power,  that  his  touch  was  marvellously 
healing,  and  his  prayers  strangely  potent,  he  prayed 
not  to  be  set  up  thereby,  nor  to  forget  that  the 
power  came,  not  by  him  but  through  him,  because 
of  his  knowing  his  own  unworthiness.  He  fasted 
and  prayed  to  be  trusted  still  more  until  he  should 
be  worthy  of  that  complete  power  which  the  Master 
had  said  came  only  by  prayer  and  fasting. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         297 

The  conscientious  manner  in  which  he  performed 
his  offices  was  favourably  commented  upon  by 
Bishop  Wright.  This  good  man  believed  there  had 
been  a  decline  of  late  in  the  ardour  of  the  priesthood. 

"  I  tell  you,  Elder,  I  wish  they  was  all  as  careful 
as  you  be,  but  they're  falling  into  shiftless  ways.  If 
I'm  sick  and  have  to  depend  on  myself,  all  right. 
I'll  dose  up  with  lobelia  or  gamboge,  or  put  a  blister- 
plaster  on  the  back  of  my  neck  or  take  a  drink  of 
catnip  tea  or  composition,  and  then  the  cure  of  my 
misery  is  with  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts.  But  if  I  send 
for  an  administrator,  it's  different.  He  takes  the 
responsibility  and  I  want  him  to  fulfil  every  will 
of  the  Lord.  When  an  Elder  comes  to  administer 
to  me  and  is  afraid  of  greasing  his  fingers  or  of 
dropping  a  little  oil  on  his  vest,  and  says,  '  Oh, 
never  mind  the  oil !  there  ain't  any  virtue  in  the  olive- 
oil;  besides,  I  might  grease  my  gloves,'  why  I  feel 
like  telling  such  a  Godless  critter  to  walk  off.  When 
God  says  anoint  with  oil,  anoint,  I  don't  care  if  it 
runs  down  his  beard  as  it  ran  down  Aaron's.  And 
I  don't  want  to  talk  anybody  down  or  mention  any 
names ;  but,  well,  next  time  when  I  got  a  cold  and 
Elder  Beil  Wardle  is  the  only  administrator  free, 
why,  I'll  just  stand  or  fall  by  myself.  A  basin  of 
water-gruel,  hot,  with  half  a  quart  of  old  rum  in  it 
and  lots  of  brown  sugar,  is  better  than  all  his  anoint 
ing." 

To  make  his  days  busier  there  were  the  affairs 
of  the  Church  to  oversee,  for  he  was  now  President 
of  the  local  Stake  of  Zion;  reports  of  the  teachers 


298         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

to  consider  in  council  meeting,  of  their  weekly  visits 
to  each  family,  and  of  the  fidelity  of  each  of  its 
members  to  the  Kingdom.  And  there  were  the 
Deacons  and  Priests  of  the  Aaronic  Order  and  other 
Elders  and  Bishops  of  the  Order  of  Melchisedek  to 
advise  with  upon  the  temporal  and  spiritual  affairs 
of  Israel ;  to  labour  and  pray  with  Peregrine  Noble, 
who  had  declared  that  he  would  no  longer  be  as 
limber  as  a  tallowed  rag  in  the  hands  of  the  priest 
hood,  and  to  deliver  him  over  to  the  buffetings  of 
Satan  in  the  flesh  if  he  persisted  in  his  blasphemy; 
to  rebuke  Ozro  Cutler  for  having  brazenly  sought 
to  pay  on  his  tithing  some  ten  pounds  of  butter  so 
redolent  of  garlic  that  the  store  had  refused  to  take 
it  from  him  in  trade;  to  counsel  Mary  Townsley 
that  Pye  Townsley  would  come  short  of  his  glory 
before  God  if  she  remained  rebellious  in  the  matter 
of  his  sealing  other  jewels  to  his  crown;  to  teach 
certain  unillumined  Saints  something  of  the  ethics 
of  unbranded  cattle;  and  to  warn  settlers  against 
isolating  themselves  in  the  outlying  valleys  where 
they  would  be  a  temptation  to  the  red  sons  of 
Laman. 

Again  there  was  the  rite  of  baptism  to  be  admin 
istered,  —  not  an  onerous  office  in  the  matter  of  the 
living,  but  apt  to  become  so  in  the  case  of  the  dead ; 
for  the  whole  world  had  been  in  darkness  and  sin 
since  the  apostolic  gifts  were  lost,  ages  ago,  and 
the  number  of  dead  whose  souls  now  waited  for 
baptism  was  incalculable;  and  not  until  the  living 
had  been  baptised  for  them  could  they  enter  the 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         299 

celestial  Kingdom.  In  consequence,  all  earnest  souls 
were  baptised  tirelessly  for  their  loved  ones  who 
had  gone  behind  the  veil  before  Peter,  James,  and 
John  ordained  Joseph  Smith. 

But  the  unselfish  did  not  confine  their  efforts  to 
friends  and  relatives.  In  the  village  of  Amalon  that 
winter  and  spring,  Amarintha,  third  wife  of  Sar- 
shell  Sweezy,  bethought  her  to  be  baptised  for  Queen 
Anne;  whereupon  Ezra  Colver  at  once  underwent 
the  same  rite  for  this  lamented  queen's  husband, 
Prince  George  of  Denmark;  thereby  securing  the 
prompt  admission  of  the  royal  couple  to  the  full 
joys  of  the  Kingdom. 

Attention  being  thus  turned  to  royalty,  the  first 
Napoleon  and  his  first  consort  were  baptised  into 
heaven  by  thoughtful  proxies;  then  Queen  Eliza 
beth  and  Henry  the  Eighth.  Eric  Glines,  being  a 
liberal-minded  man,  was  baptised  for  George  Wash 
ington,  thus  adding  the  first  President  of  the  Gentile 
nation  to  the  galaxy  of  Mormon  Saints  reigning  in 
heaven.  Gilbroid  Sumner  thereupon  won  the  fer 
vent  commendation  of  his  Elder  by  submitting  twice 
to  burial  in  the  waters  of  baptism  for  the  two  thieves 
on  the  cross. 

From  time  to  time  the  little  settlement  was  visited 
by  officials  of  the  Church  who  journeyed  south  from 
Salt  Lake  City ;  perhaps  one  of  the  powerful  Twelve 
Apostles,  those  who  bind  on  earth  that  which  is 
bound  in  heaven ;  or  High  Priests,  Counsellors,  or 
even  Brigham  himself  with  his  favourite  wife  and 
a  retinue  of  followers  in  stately  procession. 


300         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

Late  in  the  spring,  also,  came  the  Patriarch  in  the 
Church,  Uncle  John  Young,  eldest  brother  of  Brig- 
ham.  It  was  the  office  of  this  good  man  to  dispense 
blessings  to  the  faithful ;  blessings  written  and  pre 
served  reverently  in  the  family  archives  as  charms 
to  ward  off  misfortune.  Through  all  the  valleys 
Uncle  John  was  accustomed  to  go  on  his  mission 
of  light.  When  he  reached  a  settlement  announce 
ment  was  made  of  his  headquarters,  and  the  un 
blessed  were  invited  to  wait  upon  him. 

The  cynical  had  been  known  to  complain  that 
Uncle  John  was  a  hard  man  to  deal  with,  especially 
before  money  was  current  in  the  Territory,  when 
blessings  had  to  be  paid  for  in  produce.  Many  a 
Saint,  these  said,  had  long  gone  unblessed  because 
the  only  produce  he  had  to  give  chanced  to  meet 
no  need  of  Uncle  John.  Further,  they  gossiped,  if 
paid  in  butter  or  fine  flour  or  fat  turkeys  when  these 
were  scarce,  Uncle  John  was  certain  to  give  an  un 
usually  strong  blessing,  perhaps  insuring,  on  top 
of  freedom  from  poverty  and  disease,  the  prolonga 
tion  of  life  until  the  coming  of  the  Messiah.  Yet 
it  is  not  improbable  that  all  these  tales  were  inse 
curely  based  upon  a  single  instance  wherein  one 
Starling  Driggs,  believing  himself  to  stand  in  ur 
gent  need  of  a  blessing,  had  offered  to  pay  Uncle 
John  for  the  service  in  vinegar.  It  had  been  unex 
ceptionable  vinegar,  as  Uncle  John  himself  admitted, 
but  being  a  hundred  miles  from  home,  and  having 
no  way  to  carry  it,  the  Patriarch  had  been  obliged 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         301 

to  refuse;  which  had  seemed  to  most  people  not  to 
have  been  more  than  fell  within  the  lines  of  reason. 

As  for  the  other  stories,  it  is  enough  to  say  that 
Uncle  John  was  himself  abundantly  blessed  with 
wives  and  children  needing  to  be  fed,  that  the  la 
bourer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,  and  that  it  was  some 
times  vexatious  to  follow  rapid  fluctuations  in  the 
market  value  of  butter,  eggs,  beef,  potatoes,  beet- 
molasses,  and  the  like.  Certain  it  is  that  after 
money  came  to  circulate  it  was  a  much  more  satis 
factory  business  all  around ;  two  dollars  a  blessing 
—  flat,  and  no  grievances  on  either  side,  with  a 
slight  reduction  if  several  were  blessed  in  one  family. 
When  Uncle  John  laid  his  hands  upon  a  head  after 
that,  every  one  knew  the  exact  pecuniary  significance 
of  the  act. 

When  the  Patriarch  stopped  at  Amalon  that 
spring,  at  the  house  of  Joel  Rae,  there  were  many 
blessings  to  be  made,  and  from  morning  until  night 
for  several  days  he  was  busy  with  the  writing  of 
them.  Two  members  of  the  household  he  interested 
to  an  uncommon  degree,  —  the  child,  Prudence,  who 
forthwith  began  daily  to  promise  her  dolls  that  they 
should  not  taste  of  death  till  Christ  came,  and  Tom 
Potwin,  the  imbecile,  who  became  for  some  unknown 
reason  covetous  of  a  blessing  for  himself.  He 
stayed  about  the  Patriarch  most  of  the  time,  bother 
ing  him  with  appeals  for  one  of  his  blessings.  But 
Uncle  John,  though  a  good  man,  had  been  gifted 
by  Heaven  with  slight  imagination,  and  Tom  Pot- 
win  would  doubtless  have  had  to  go  without  this 


302         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

luxury  but  for  a  chance  visitor  to  the  house  one 
day. 

This  was  no  less  a  person  than  Bishop  Snow,  he 
who  had  once  been  Tom  Potwin's  rival  for  the 
hand  of  her  who  was  now  the  second  Mrs.  Rae. 
With  his  portly  figure,  his  full,  florid  face  with  its 
massive  jaw,  and  his  heavy  locks  of  curling  white 
hair,  the  good  Bishop  seemed  indeed  to  have  de 
served  the  title  put  upon  him  years  ago  by  the 
Church  Poet,  —  The  Entablature  of  Truth. 

He  alighted  from  his  wagon  and  greeted  Uncle 
John,  busy  with  the  writing  of  his  blessings  in  the 
cool  shade  just  outside  the  door. 

"  Good  for  you,  Uncle  John !  Be  a  fountain  of 
living  waters  to  the  thirsty  in  Zion.  Say,  who's 
that?"  and  he  pointed  to  Tom  Potwin  who  had 
been  wistfully  watching  the  pen  of  the  Patriarch 
as  it  ran  over  his  paper.  Uncle  John  regarded  the 
Bishop  shrewdly. 

"  You  ought  to  know,  Brother  Snow.  '  Tain't  so 
long  since  you  and  him  were  together." 

The  Bishop  looked  closely  again,  and  the  boy 
now  returned  his  gaze  with  his  own  weakly  foolish 
look. 

"  Well !  If  it  ain't  that  Tom  Potwin.  The  Lord 
certainly  hardened  his  heart  against  counsel  to  his 
own  undoing.  I  tried  every  way  in  the  world  — 
say,  what's  he  doing  here?  " 

"  Oh,  Brother  Rae  has  given  him  a  home  here 
along  with  that  first  woman  of  Brother  Tench's. 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         303 

The  crazy  loon  has  been  bothering  me  all  week  to 
give  him  a  blessing." 

The  Entablature  of  Truth  chuckled,  being  not 
without  a  sense  of  humour. 

"  Well,  say,  give  him  one  if  he  wants  it.  Here  — 
here's  your  two  dollars  —  write  him  a  good  one 
now." 

Uncle  John  took  the  money,  and  at  once  began 
writing  upon  a  clean  sheet  of  paper.  The  boy  stood 
by  watching  him  eagerly,  and  when  the  Patriarch 
had  finished  the  document  took  it  from  him  with 
trembling  hands.  The  Bishop  spoke  to  him. 

"  Here,  boy,  let's  see  what  Uncle  John  gives  us 
for  our  money." 

With  some  misgiving  the  owner  of  the  blessing 
relinquished  it  into  the  Bishop's  hand,  watching  it 
jealously,  though  listening  with  delight  while  his 
benefactor  read  it. 

"  Patriarchal  blessing  of  Tom  Potwin  by  John 
Young,  Patriarch,  given  at  Amalon  June  ist,  1859. 
Brother  Tom  Potwin,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Naza 
reth  and  by  authority  of  the  Holy  Priesthood  in  me 
vested,  I  confer  upon  thee  a  Patriarch's  blessing. 
Thou  art  of  Ephraim  through  the  loins  of  Joseph 
that  was  sold  into  Egypt.  And  inasmuch  as  thou 
hast  obeyed  the  requirements  of  the  Gospel  thy 
sins  are  forgiven  thee.  Thy  name  is  written  in  the 
Lamb's  book  of  life  never  more  to  be  blotted  out. 
Thou  art  a  lawful  heir  to  all  the  blessings  of  Abra 
ham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  in  the  new  and  everlasting 
covenant.  Thou  shalt  have  a  numerous  posterity 


304         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

who  shall  rise  up  to  call  thee  blessed.  Thou  shalt 
have  power  over  thine  enemies.  They  that  oppose 
thee  shall  yet  come  bending  unto  thee.  Thou  shalt 
come  forth  in  the  morning  of  the  first  resurrection, 
and  no  power  shall  hinder  except  the  shedding  of 
innocent  blood  or  the  consenting  thereto.  I  seal 
thee  up  to  eternal  life  in  the  name  of  the  Father 
and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen  and 
amen!" 

The  worthy  Bishop  handed  the  paper  back  to  the 
enraptured  boy,  and  turned  to  Joel  Rae,  who  now 
came  up. 

"  Hello,  Brother  Rae.  I  hear  you  took  on  that 
thirteenth  woman  of  mine.  Much  good  it'll  do  you ! 
She  was  unlucky  for  me,  sure  enough  —  rambunc 
tious  when  she  was  healthy,  and  lazy  when  she  was 
sick!" 

When  they  came  out  of  the  house  half  an  hour 
later,  he  added  in  tones  of  confidential  warning : 

"  Say,  you  want  to  look  out  for  her  —  I  see  she's 
getting  the  red  back  in  her  blood !  " 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

How  the  Red  Came  Back  to  the  Blood  to  be  a  Snare 

THE  watchful  eyes  of  the  Bishop  had  seen 
truly.  Not  only  was  the  red  coming  back 
to  the  blood  of  Martha,  but  the  fair  flesh 
to  her  meagre  frame,  the  spring  of  youth  to  her 
step  and  living  fire  to  her  voice  and  the  glance  of 
her  eyes.  Her  husband  was  pleased.  He  had  made 
a  new  creature  of  the  poor,  worn  wreck  found  by 
the  wayside,  weak,  emaciated,  reeling  under  her 
burden.  He  rejoiced  to  know  he  had  done  a  true 
service.  He  was  glad,  moreover,  to  know  that  she 
made  an  admirable  mother  to  the  little  woman- 
child.  Prudence,  indeed,  had  brought  them  closer 
to  each  other,  slowly,  subtly,  in  little  ways  to  dis 
arm  the  most  timid  caution. 

And  this  mothering  and  fathering  of  little  Pru 
dence  was  a  work  by  no  means  colourless  or  un 
eventful.  The  child  had  displayed  a  grievous  ca 
pacity  for  remaining  unimpressed  by  even  the  best- 
weighed  opinions  of  her  protector.  She  was  also 
appallingly  fluent  in  and  partial  to  the  idioms  and 
metaphors  of  revealed  religion,  —  a  circumstance 

305 


306         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

that  would  not  infrequently  cause  the  sensitive  to 
shudder. 

Thus,  when  she  chose  to  call  her  largest  and  least 
sightly  doll  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  ingenuity  of  those 
about  her  was  taxed  to  rebuke  her  in  ways  that 
would  be  effective  without  being  harsh.  It  was 
felt,  too,  that  her  offence  had  been  but  slightly  mit 
igated  when  she  called  the  same  doll,  thereafter, 
"  Thou  son  of  perdition  and  shedder  of  innocent 
blood."  Not  until  this  disfigured  effigy  became 
Bishop  Wright,  and  the  remaining  dolls  his  more 
or  less  disobedient  wives,  was  it  felt  that  she  had 
approached  even  remotely  the  plausible  and  the 
decorous. 

A  glance  at  some  of  the  verses  she  was  from 
time  to  time  constrained  to  learn  will  perhaps  indi 
cate  the  line  of  her  transgressions,  and  yet  avert 
a  disclosure  of  details  that  were  often  tragic.  She 
was  taught  these  verses  from  a  little  old  book  bound 
in  the  gaudiest  of  Dutch  gilt  paper,  as  if  to  relieve 
the  ever-present  severity  of  the  text  and  the  dis 
tressing  scenes  portrayed  in  the  illustrating  copper 
plates.  For  example,  on  a  morning  when  there 
had  been  hasty  words  at  breakfast,  arising  from 
circumstances  immaterial  to  this  narrative,  she 
might  be  made  to  learn :  — 


That  I  did  not  see  Frances  just  now  I  am  glad, 
For  Winifred  says  she  looked  sullen  and  sad. 
When  T  ask  her  the  reason,  I  know  very  well 
That  Frances  will  blush  the  true  reason  to  tell. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         307 

"And  I  never  again  shall  expect  to  hear  said 
That  she  pouts  at  her  milk  with  a  toast  of  white  bread, 
When  both  are  as  good  as  can  possibly  be  — 
Though  Betsey,  for  breakfast,  perhaps  may  have  tea." 

With  no  sort  of  propriety  could  be  set  down  in 
printed  words  the  occurrence  that  led  to  her  reciting 
twenty  times,  somewhat  defiantly  in  the  beginning, 
but  at  last  with  the  accents  and  expression  of  coun 
tenance  proper  to  remorse,  the  following  verses :  — 

"  Who  was  it  that  I  lately  heard 
Repeating  an  improper  word  ? 
I  do  not  like  to  tell  her  name 
Because  she  is  so  much  to  blame." 

Indeed,  she  came  to  thunder  the  final  verse  with 
excellent  gestures  of  condemnatory  rage :  — 

"  Go,  naughty  child  !  and  hide  your  face, 
I  grieve  to  see  you  in  disgrace ; 
Go  !  you  have  forfeited  to-day 
All  right  at  trap  and  ball  to  play." 

Nor  is  it  necessary  to  go  back  of  the  very  signifi 
cant  lines  themselves  to  explain  the  circumstance  of 
her  having  the  following  for  a  half-day's  burden  :  — 

"  Jack  Parker  was  a  cruel  boy, 
For  mischief  was  his  sole  employ ; 
And  much  it  grieved  his  friends  to  find 
His  thoughts  so  wickedly  inclined. 

'« But  all  such  boys  unless  they  mend 
May  come  to  an  unhappy  end, 
Like  Jack,  who  got  a  fractured  skull 
Whilst  bellowing  at  a  furious  bull." 


308 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 


Nor  is  there  sufficient  reason  to  say  why  she  was 
often  counselled  to  regard  as  her  model :  — 

"  Miss  Lydia  Banks,  though  very  young, 
Will  never  do  what's  rude  or  wrong ; 


When  spoken  to  she  always  tries 
To  give  the  most  polite  replies." 


And  painful,  indeed,  would  it  be  to  relate  the 
events  of  one  sad  day  which  culminated  in  her  de 
claiming  at  night,  with  far  more  than  perfunctory 
warmth,  and  in  a  voice  scarce  dry  of  tears :  — 

"  Miss  Lucy  Wright,  though  not  so  tall, 
Was  just  the  age  of  Sophy  Ball ; 
But  I  have  always  understood 
Miss  Sophy  was  not  half  so  good ; 
For  as  they  both  had  faded  teeth, 
Their  teacher  sent  for  Doctor  Heath. 

**  But  Sophy  made  a  dreadful  rout 
And  would  not  have  hers  taken  out ; 
While  Lucy  Wright  endured  the  pain, 
Nor  did  she  ever  once  complain. 
Her  teeth  returned  quite  sound  and  white, 
While  Sophy's  ached  both  day  and  night." 

Yet  her  days  were  by  no  means  all  of  reproof  nor 
was  her  reproof  ever  harsher  than  the  more  or  less 
pointed  selections  from  the  moral  verses  could  in 
flict.  Under  the  watchful  care  of  Martha  she  flour 
ished  and  was  happy,  her  mother  in  little,  a 
laughing  whirlwind  of  tender  flesh,  tireless  feet, 
dancing  eyes,  hair  of  sunlight  that  was  darkening 
as  she  grew  older,  and  a  mind  that  seemed  to 
him  she  called  father  a  miracle  of  unfoldment.  It 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         309 

was  a  mind  not  so  quickly  receptive  as  he  could 
have  wished  to  the  learning  he  tried  patiently  to 
impart;  he  wondered,  indeed,  if  she  were  not  unduly 
frivolous  even  for  a  child  of  six;  for  she  would 
refuse  to  study  unless  she  could  have  the  doll  she 
called  Bishop  Wright  with  her  and  pretend  that  she 
taught  the  lesson  to  him,  finding  him  always  stupid 
and  loth  to  learn.  He  hoped  for  better  things  from 
her  mind  as  she  aged,  watching  anxiously  for  the 
buddings  of  reason  and  religion,  praying  daily  that 
she  should  be  increased  in  wisdom  as  in  stature. 
He  had  become  so  used  to  the  look  of  her  mother 
in  her  face  that  it  now  and  then  gave  him  an  instant 
of  unspeakable  joy.  But  the  sound  of  his  own 
voice  calling  her  "  Prudence "  would  shock  him 
from  this  as  with  an  icy  blast  of  truth. 

When  the  children  of  Amalon  came  to  play  with 
her,  the  little  Nephis,  Moronis,  Lehis,  and  Juabs, 
he  saw  she  was  a  creature  apart  from  them,  of 
another  fashion  of  mind  and  body.  He  saw,  too, 
that  with  some  native  intuition  she  seemed  to  divine 
this,  and  to  assume  command  even  of  those  older 
than  herself.  Thus  Wish  Wright  and  his  brother, 
Welcome,  both  her  seniors  by  several  years,  were 
her  awe-bound  slaves;  and  the  twin  daughters  of 
Zebedee  Bloom  obeyed  her  least  whim  without  ques 
tion,  even  when  it  involved  them  in  situations  more 
or  less  delicate.  With  her  quick  ear  for  rhythm 
she  had  been  at  once  impressed  by  their  names  — 
impressed  to  a  degree  that  savoured  of  fascina 
tion.  She  would  seat  the  two  before  her,  range 


310         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

the  other  children  beside  them,  and  then  lead  the 
chorus  in  a  spirited  chant  of  these  names :  — 

"  Isa  Vinda  Exene  Bloom  ! 
Ella  Minda  Almarine  Bloom !  " 

repeating  this  a  long  time  until  they  were  all  breath 
less,  and  the  solemn  twins  themselves  were  looking 
embarrassed  and  rather  foolishly  pleased. 

As  he  observed  her  day  by  day  in  her  joyous 
growth,  it  was  inevitable  that  he  came  more  and 
more  to  observe  the  woman  who  was  caring  for  her, 
and  it  was  thus  on  one  night  in  late  summer  that 
he  awoke  to  an  awful  truth,  —  a  truth  that  brought 
back  the  words  of  the  woman's  former  husband  with 
a  new  meaning. 

He  had  heard  Prudence  say  to  her,  "  You  are 
a  pretty  mamma,"  and  suddenly  there  came  rushing 
upon  him  the  sum  of  all  the  impressions  his  eyes 
had  taken  of  her  since  that  day  when  the  Bishop  had 
spoken.  He  trembled  and  became  weak  under  the 
assault,  feeling  that  in  some  insidious  way  his 
strength  had  been  undermined.  He  went  out  into 
the  early  evening  to  be  alone,  but  she,  presently, 
having  put  the  child  to  bed,  came  and  stood  near, 
silently  in  the  doorway. 

He  looked  and  saw  she  was  indeed  made  new, 
restored  to  the  lustre  and  fulness  of  her  young 
womanhood.  He  remembered  then  that  she  had 
long  been  silent  when  he  came  near  her,  plainly 
conscious  of  his  presence  but  with  an  apparent  con 
straint,  with  something  almost  tentative  in  her  man- 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         311 

ner.  With  her  return  to  health  and  comeliness  there 
had  come  back  to  her  a  thousand  little  graces  of 
dress  and  manner  and  speech.  She  drew  him,  with 
his  starved  love  of  beauty  and  his  need  of  com 
panionship;  drew  him  with  a  mighty  power,  and 
he  knew  it  at  last.  He  remembered  how  he  had  felt 
and  faintly  thrilled  under  a  certain  soft  suppression 
in  her  tones  when  she  had  spoken  to  him  of  late; 
this  had  drawn  him,  and  the  new  light  in  her  eyes 
and  her  whole  freshened  womanhood,  even  before 
he  knew  it.  Now  that  he  did  know  it  he  felt  him 
self  shaken  and  all  but  lost;  clutching  weakly  at 
some  support  that  threatened  every  moment  to  give 
way. 

And  she  was  his  wife,  his  who  had  starved  year 
after  year  for  the  light  touch  of  a  woman's  hand 
and  the  tones  of  her  voice  that  should  be  for  him 
alone.  He  knew  now  that  he  had  ached  and 
sickened  in  his  yearning  for  this,  and  she  stood 
there  for  him  in  the  soft  night.  He  knew  she  was 
waiting,  and  he  knew  he  desired  above  all  things 
else  to  go  to  her;  that  the  comfort  of  her,  his  to 
take,  would  give  him  new  life,  new  desires,  new 
powers;  that  with  her  he  would  revive  as  she  had 
done.  He  waited  long,  indulging  freely  in  hesita 
tion,  bathing  his  wearied  soul  in  her  nearness  — 
yielding  in  fancy. 

Then  he  walked  off  into  the  night,  down  through 
the  village,  past  the  light  of  open  doors,  and  through 
the  voices  that  sounded  from  them,  out  on  to  the 
bare  bench  of  the  mountain  —  his  old  refuse  in 


312         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

temptation  —  where  he  could  be  safe  from  sub 
mitting  to  what  his  soul  had  forbidden.  He  had 
meant  to  take  up  a  cross,  but  before  his  very  eyes 
it  had  changed  to  be  a  snare  set  for  him  by  the 
Devil. 

He  stayed  late  on  the  ground  in  the  darkness, 
winning  the  battle  for  himself  over  and  over,  de 
cisively,  he  thought,  at  the  last.  But  when  he  went 
home  she  was  there  in  the  doorway  to  meet  him, 
still  silent,  but  with  eyes  that  told  more  than  he 
dared  to  hear.  He  thought  she  had  in  some  way 
divined  his  struggle,  and  was  waiting  to  strengthen 
the  odds  against  him,  with  her  face  in  the  light  of 
a  candle  she  held  above  her  head. 

He  went  by  her  without  speaking,  afraid  of  his 
weakness,  and  rushed  to  his  little  cell-like  room  to 
fight  the  battle  over.  As  a  last  source  of  strength 
he  took  from  its  hiding-place  the  little  Bible.  And 
as  it  fell  open  naturally  at  the  blood-washed  page 
a  new  thing  came,  a  new  torture.  No  sooner  had 
his  eyes  fallen  on  the  stain  than  it  seemed  to  him 
to  cry  out  of  itself,  so  that  he  started  back  from 
it.  He  shut  the  book  and  the  cries  were  stilled; 
he  opened  it  and  again  he  heard  them  —  far,  loud 
cries  and  low  groans  close  to  his  ear;  then  long 
piercing  screams  stifled  suddenly  to  low,  horrible 
gurglings.  And  before  him  came  the  inscrutable 
face  with  the  deep  gray  eyes  and  the  shining  lips, 
lifting,  with  love  in  the  eyes,  above  a  gashed  throat. 

He  closed  the  book  and  fell  weakly  to  his  knees 
to  pray  brokenly,  and  almost  despairingly :  "  Help 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         313 

me  to  keep  down  this  self  within  me;  let  it  ask  for 
nothing;  fan  the  fires  until  they  consume  it!  Bow 
me,  bend  me,  break  me,  burn  me  out  —  burn  me 
out!" 

In  the  morning,  when  he  said,  "  Martha,  the 
harvest  is  over  now,  and  I  want  you  to  go  north 
with  me,"  she  prepared  to  obey  without  question. 

He  talked  freely  to  her  on  the  way,  though  it  is 
probable  that  he  left  in  her  mind  little  more  than 
dark  confusion,  beyond  the  one  clear  fact  of  his 
wish.  As  to  this,  she  knew  she  must  have  no  desire 
but  to  comply.  Reaching  Salt  Lake  City,  they  went 
at  once  to  Brigham's  office.  When  they  came  out 
they  came  possessed  of  a  document  in  duplicate, 
reciting  that  they  both  did  "  covenant,  promise,  and 
agree  to  dissolve  all  the  relations  which  have 
hitherto  existed  between  us  as  husband  and  wife, 
and  to  keep  ourselves  separate  and  apart  from  each 
other  from  this  time  forth." 

This  was  the  simple  divorce  which  Brigham  was 
good  enough  to  grant  to  such  of  the  Saints  as  found 
themselves  unhappily  married,  and  wished  it.  As 
Joel  Rae  handed  the  Prophet  the  fee  of  ten  dollars, 
which  it  was  his  custom  to  charge  for  the  service, 
Brigham  made  some  timely  remarks.  He  said  he 
feared  that  Martha  had  been  perverse  and  rebellious ; 
that  her  first  husband  had  found  her  so;  and  that 
it  was  doubtless  for  the  good  of  all  that  her  second 
had  taken  the  resolution  to  divorce  her.  He  was 
afraid  that  Brother  Joel  was  an  inferior  judge  of 
women;  but  he  had  surely  shown  himself  to  be 


314         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

generous  in  the  provision  he  was  making  for  the 
support  of  this  contumacious  wife. 

They  parted  outside  the  door  of  the  little  office, 
and  he  kissed  her  for  the  first  time  since  they  had 
been  married  —  on  the  forehead. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

A  New  Cross  Taken  up  and  an  Old  Enemy  For 
given 

CHRISTINA  would  now  be  left  alone  with  the 
cares  of  the  house,  and  he  knew  he  ought 
to  have  some  one  to  help  her.  The  fever  of 
sacrifice  was  also  upon  him.  And  so  he  found 
another  derelict,  to  whom  he  was  sealed  forever. 

At  a  time  of  more  calmness  he  might  have  balked 
at  this  one.  She  was  a  cross,  to  be  sure,  and  it  was 
now  his  part  in  life  to  bear  crosses.  But  there  were 
plenty  of  these,  and  even  one  vowed  to  a  life  of 
sacrifice,  he  suspected,  need  not  grossly  abuse  the 
powers  of  discrimination  with  which  Heaven  had 
seen  fit  to  endow  him.  But  he  had  lately  been  on 
the  verge  of  a  seething  maelstrom,  balancing  there 
with  unholy  desire  and  wickedly  looking  far  down, 
and  the  need  to  atone  for  this  sin  excited  him  to 
indiscretions. 

It  was  not  that  this  star  in  his  crown  was  in  her 
late  thirties  and  less  than  lovely.  He  had  learned, 
indeed,  that  in  the  game  which,  for  the  chastening 
of  his  soul,  he  now  played  with  the  Devil,  it  were 

315 


31 6         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

best  to  choose  stars  whose  charms  could  excite  to 
little  but  conduct  of  a  saintlike  seemliness.  The  fat, 
dumpy  figure  of  this  woman,  therefore,  and  her 
round,  flat,  moonlike  face,  her  mouse-coloured  wisps 
of  hair  cut  squarely  off  at  the  back  of  her  neck,  were 
points  of  a  merit  that  was  in  its  whole  effect  nothing 
less  than  distinguished. 

But  she  talked.  Her  tones  played  with  the  con 
stancy  of  an  ever-living  fountain.  Artlessly  she 
lost  herself  in  the  sound  of  their  music,  until  she 
also  lost  her  sense  of  proportion,  of  light  and  shade, 
of  simple,  Christian  charity.  Her  name  was  Lorena 
Sears,  and  she  had  come  in  with  one  of  the  late 
trains  of  converts,  without  friends,  relatives,  or 
means,  with  nothing  but  her  natural  gifts  and  an 
abiding  faith  in  the  saving  powers  of  the  new  dis 
pensation.  And  though  she  was  so  alive  in  her 
faith,  rarely  informed  in  the  Scriptures,  bubbling 
with  enthusiasm  for  the  new  covenant,  the  new  Zion, 
and  the  second  coming  of  the  Messiah,  there  had 
seemed  to  be  no  place  for  her.  She  had  not  been 
asked  in  marriage,  nor  had  she  found  it  easy  to 
secure  work  to  support  herself. 

"  She's  strong,"  said  Brigham,  to  his  inquiring 
Elder,  "  and  a  good  worker,  but  even  Brother  Heber 
Kimball  wouldn't  marry  her ;  and  between  you  and 
me,  Brother  Joel,  I  never  knew  Heber  to  shy  before 
at  anything  that  would  work.  You  can  see  that, 
yourself,  by  looking  over  his  household." 

But,  after  the  needful  preliminaries,  and  a  very 
little  coy  hesitation  on  the  part  of  the  lady,  Lorena 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         317 

Sears,  spinster,  native  of  Elyria,  Ohio,  was  duly 
sealed  to,  for  time  and  eternity,  and  became  a  star 
forever  in  the  crown  of,  Joel  Rae,  Elder  after  the 
Order  of  Melchisedek  in  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter-day  Saints  and  President  of  the  Amalon 
Stake  of  Zion. 

In  the  bustle  of  the  start  south  there  were,  of 
necessity,  moments  in  which  the  crown's  new  star 
could  not  talk;  but  these  blessed  respites  were  at 
an  end  when  at  last  they  came  to  the  open  road. 

At  first,  as  her  speech  flowed  on,  he  looked  side 
long  at  her,  in  a  trouble  of  fear  and  wonder ;  then, 
at  length,  absently,  trying  to  put  his  mind  elsewhere 
and  to  leave  her  voice  as  the  muted  murmur  of  a 
distant  torrent.  He  succeeded  fairly  well  in  this, 
for  Lorena  combined  admirably  in  herself  the  parts 
of  speaker  and  listener,  and  was  not,  he  thankfully 
noted,  watchful  of  his  attention. 

But  in  spite  of  all  he  could  do,  sentences 
would  come  to  seize  upon  his  ears:  "...  No 
chance  at  all  back  there  for  a  good  girl  with 
any  heart  in  her  unless  she's  one  of  the  doll- 
baby  kind,  and,  thank  fortune,  I  never  was 
that!  Now  there  was  Wilbur  Watkins  —  his 
father  was  president  of  the  board  of  chosen  free 
holders  —  Wilbur  had  a  way  of  saying,  '  Lorena's 
all  right  —  she  weighs  a  hundred  and  seventy-eight 
pounds  on  the  big  scales  down  to  the  city  meat- 
market,  and  it's  most  of  it  heart  —  a  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  pounds  and  most  all  heart  —  and  she'd 
be  a  prize  to  anybody/  but  then,  that  was  his  way, 


318         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

—  Wilbur  was  a  good  deal  of  a  take-on,  —  and 
there  was  never  anything  between  him  and  me.  And 
when  the  Elder  come  along  and  begun  to  preach 
about  the  new  Zion  and  tell  about  the  strange  ways 
that  the  Lord  had  ordered  people  to  act  out  here, 
something  kind  of  went  all  through  me,  and  I  says, 
'That's  the  place  for  me!'  Of  course,  the  saying 
is,  '  There  ain't  any  Gawd  west  of  the  Missouri,'  but 
them  that  says  it  ain't  of  the  house  of  Israel  — 
lots  of  folks  purtends  to  be  great  Bible  readers, 
but  pin  'em  right  down  and  what  do  you  find?  — 
you  find  they  ain't  really  studied  it  —  not  what  you 
could  call  pored  over  it.  They  fuss  through  a  chap 
ter  here  and  there,  and  rush  lickety-brindle  through 
another,  and  ain't  got  the  blessed  truth  out  of  any 
of  'em  —  little  fine  points,  like  where  the  Lord 
hardened  Pharaoh's  heart  every  time,  for  why?  — 
because  if  He  hadn't  'a'  done  it  Pharaoh  would  'a* 
give  in  the  very  first  time  and  spoiled  the  whole 
thing.  And  then  the  Lord  would  visit  so  plumb 
natural  and  commonlike  with  Moses  —  like  tellin' 
him,  '  I  appeared  unto  Abraham,  unto  Isaac,  and 
unto  Jacob  by  the  name  of  God  Almighty,  for  by 
my  name  Jehovah  was  I  not  known  unto  them/  I 
thought  that  was  awful  cute  and  friendly,  stoppin' 
to  talk  about  His  name  that  way.  Oh,  I've  spent 
hours  and  hours  over  the  blessed  Book.  I  bet  I 
know  something  you  don't,  now  —  what  verse  in  the 
Bible  has  every  letter  in  the  alphabet  in  it  except 
'  J '  ?  Of  course  you  wouldn't  know.  Plenty  of 
preachers  don't.  It's  the  twenty-first  verse  of  the 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         319 

seventh  chapter  of  the  book  of  Ezra.  And  the 
Book  of  Mormon  —  I  do  love  to  git  set  down  in 
a  rocker  with  my  shoes  off  —  I'm  kind  of  a  heavy- 
footed  person  to  be  on  my  feet  all  day  —  and  that 
blessed  Book  in  my  hands  —  such  beautiful  lan 
guage  it  uses  —  that  verse  I  love  so,  '  He  went  forth 
among  the  people  waving  the  rent  of  his  garment 
in  the  air  that  all  might  see  the  writing  which  he 
had  wrote  upon  the  rent,'  —  that's  sure  enough 
Bible  language,  ain't  it?  And  yet  some  folks  say 
the  Book  of  Mormon  ain't  inspired.  And  that 
lovely  verse  in  Second  Niphi,  first  chapter,  four 
teenth  verse :  '  Hear  the  words  of  a  trembling 
parent  whose  limbs  you  must  soon  lay  down  in 
the  cold  and  silent  grave  from  whence  no  traveller 
can  return.'  Back  home  the  school-teacher  got  hold 
of  that  —  he's  an  awful  smarty  —  and  he  says,  '  Oh, 
that's  from  Shakespeare,'  or  some  such  book,  just 
like  that  —  and  I  just  give  him  one  look,  and  I  says, 
'  Mr.  Lyman  Hickenlooper,  if  you'll  take  notice/  I 
says,  '  you'll  see  those  words  was  composed  by  the 
angel  Moroni  over  two  thousand  years  ago  and  re 
vealed  to  Joseph  Smith  in  the  sacred  light  of  the 
Urim  and  Thummim,'  I  says,  and  the  plague-oned 
smarty  snickered  right  in  my  face  —  and  say,  now, 
what  did  you  and  your  second  git  a  separation 
for?" 

He  was  called  back  by  the  stopping  of  her  voice, 
but  she  had  to  repeat  her  question  before  he  under 
stood  it.  The  Devil  tempted  him  in  that  moment. 
He  was  on  the  point  of  answering,  "  Because  she 


320         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

talked  too  much,"  but  instead  he  climbed  out  of 
the  wagon  to  walk.  He  walked  most  of  the  three 
hundred  miles  in  the  next  ten  days.  Nights  and 
mornings  he  falsely  pretended  to  be  deaf. 

He  found  himself  in  this  long  walk  full  of  a 
pained  discouragement;  not  questioning  or  doubt 
ing,  for  he  had  been  too  well  trained  ever  to  do 
either.  But  he  was  disturbed  by  a  feeling  of  baffle 
ment,  as  might  be  a  ground-mole  whose  burrow 
was  continually  destroyed  by  an  enemy  it  could  not 
see.  This  feeling  had  begun  in  Salt  Lake  City,  for 
there  he  had  seen  that  the  house  of  Israel  was  no 
longer  unspotted  of  the  world.  Since  the  army 
with  its  camp-followers  had  come  there  was  drunken 
ness  and  vice,  the  streets  resounded  with  strange 
oaths,  and  the  midnight  murder  was  common. 
Even  Brigham  seemed  to  have  become  a  gainsayer 
in  behalf  of  Mammon,  and  the  people,  quick  to 
follow  his  lead,  were  indulging  in  ungodly  trade 
with  Gentiles;  even  with  the  army  that  had  come 
to  invade  them.  And  more  and  more  the  Gentiles 
were  coining  in.  He  heard  strange  tales  of  the 
new  facilities  afforded  them.  There  was  actually 
a  system  of  wagon-trains  regularly  hauling  freight 
from  the  Missouri  to  the  Pacific;  there  was  a  stage- 
route  bringing  passengers  and  mail  from  Babylon; 
even  Horace  Greeley  had  been  publicly  entertained 
in  Zion,  —  accorded  honour  in  the  Lord's  strong 
hold.  There  was  talk,  too,  of  a  pony-express,  to 
bring  them  mail  from  the  Missouri  in  six  days ;  and 
a  few  visionaries  were  prophesying  that  a  railroad 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         321 

would  one  day  come  by  them.  The  desert  was 
being1  peopled  all  about  them,  and  neighlx>urs  were 
forcing  a  way  up  to  their  mountain  retreat. 

It  seemed  they  were  never  to  weld  into  one  vast 
chain  the  broken  links  of  the  fated  house  of  Abra 
ham;  never  to  be  free  from  Gentile  contamination. 
He  groaned  in  spirit  as  he  went  —  walking  well 
ahead  of  his  wagon. 

But  he  had  taken  up  a  new  cross  and  he  had  his 
reward.  The  first  night  after  they  reached  home 
he  took  the  little  Bible  from  its  hiding-place  and 
opened  it  with  trembling  hands.  The  stain  was 
there,  red  in  the  candle-light.  But  the  cries  no 
longer  rang  in  his  ears  as  on  that  other  night  when 
he  had  been  sinful  before  the  page.  And  he  was 
glad,  knowing  that  the  self  within  him  had  again 
been  put  down. 

Then  came  strange  news  from  the  East  —  news 
of  a  great  civil  war.  The  troops  of  the  enemy  at 
Camp  Floyd  hurried  east  to  battle,  and  even  the 
name  of  that  camp  was  changed,  for  the  Gentile 
Secretary  of  War,  said  gossip  from  Salt  Lake  City, 
after  doing  his  utmost  to  cripple  his  country  by 
sending  to  far-off  Utah  the  flower  of  its  army,  had 
now  himself  become  not  only  a  rebel  but  a  traitor. 

Even  Johnston,  who  had  commanded  the  invading 
army,  denouncing  the  Saints  as  rebels,  had  put  off 
his  blue  uniform  for  a  gray  and  was  himself  a  rebel. 

When  the  news  came  that  South  Carolina  had 
actually  flung  the  palmetto  flag  to  the  breeze  and 
fired  the  first  gun,  he  was  inclined  to  exult.  For 


322         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

plainly  it  was  the  Lord's  work.  There  was  His 
revelation  given  to  Joseph  Smith  almost  thirty  years 
before :  "  Verily,  thus  saith  the  Lord  concerning  the 
wars  that  will  come  to  pass,  beginning  at  the  re 
bellion  of  South  Carolina."  And  ten  years  later 
the  Lord  had  revealed  to  Joseph  further  concerning 
this  prophecy  that  this  war  would  be  "  previous  to 
the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man."  Assuredly,  they 
were  now  near  the  time  when  other  Prophets  of 
the  Church  had  said  He  would  come  —  the  year 
1870.  He  thrilled  to  be  so  near  the  actual  moving 
of  the  hand  of  God,  and  something  of  the  old  spirit 
revived  within  him. 

From  Salt  Lake  City  came  news  of  the  early 
fighting  and  of  meetings  for  public  rejoicing  held 
in  the  tabernacle,  with  prophecies  that  the  Gentile 
nation  would  now  be  rent  asunder  in  punishment 
for  its  rejection  of  the  divine  message  of  the  Book 
of  Mormon  and  its  persecution  of  the  prophets  of 
God.  In  one  of  these  meetings  of  public  thanks 
giving  Brigham  had  said  from  the  tabernacle  pul 
pit  :  "  What  is  the  strength  of  this  man  Lincoln  ? 
It  is  like  a  rope  of  sand.  He  is  as  weak  as  water, 
—  an  ignorant,  Godless  shyster  from  the  backwoods 
of  Illinois.  I  feel  disgraced  in  having  been  born 
under  a  government  that  has  so  little  power  for 
truth  and  right.  And  now  it  will  be  broken  in 
pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel." 

These  public  rejoicings,  however,  brought  a  fur 
ther  trial  upon  the  Saints.  The  Third  California 
Infantry  and  a  part  of  the  Second  Cavalry  were  now 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         323 

ordered  to  Utah.  The  commander  of  this  force  was 
one  Connor,  an  officer  of  whom  extraordinary  re 
ports  were  brought  south.  It  was  said  that  he  had 
issued  an  order  directing  commanders  of  posts, 
camps,  and  detachments  to  arrest  and  imprison  "  un 
til  they  took  the  oath  of  allegiance,  all  persons  who 
from  this  date  shall  be  guilty  of  uttering  treasonable 
sentiments  against  the  government  of  the  United 
States."  Even  liberty  of  opinion,  it  appeared,  was 
thus  to  be  strangled  in  these  last  days  before  the 
Lord  came. 

Further,  this  ill-tempered  Gentile,  instead  of 
keeping  decently  remote  from  Salt  Lake  City,  as 
General  Johnston  had  done,  had  marched  his  troops 
into  the  very  stronghold  of  Zion,  despite  all  threats 
of  armed  opposition,  and  in  the  face  of  a  specific 
offer  from  one  Prophet,  Seer,  and  Revelator  to 
wager  him  a  large  sum  of  money  that  his  forces 
would  never  cross  the  River  Jordan.  To  this  fair 
offer,  so  reports  ran,  the  Gentile  officer  had  replied 
that  he  would  cross  the  Jordan  if  hell  yawned 
below  it;  that  he  had  thereupon  viciously  pulled 
the  ends  of  a  grizzled,  gray  moustache  and  pro 
ceeded  to  behave  very  much  as  an  officer  would  be 
expected  to  behave  who  was  commonly  known  as 
"  old  Pat  Connor." 

Knowing  that  the  forces  of  the  Saints  outnum 
bered  his  own,  and  that  he  was,  in  his  own  phrase, 
"  six  hundred  miles  of  sand  from  reinforcements,'* 
he  had  halted  his  command  two  miles  from  the  city, 
formed  his  column  with  an  advance-guard  of  cav- 


324         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

airy  and  a  light  battery,  the  infantry  and  the  com 
missary-wagons  coming  next,  and  in  this  order, 
with  bayonets  fixed,  cannon  shotted,  and  two  bands 
playing,  had  marched  brazenly  in  the  face  of  the 
Mormon  authorities  and  through  the  silent  crowds 
of  Saints  to  Emigrant  Square.  Here,  in  front  of 
the  governor's  residence,  where  flew  the  only  Amer 
ican  flag  to  be  seen  in  the  whole  great  city,  he  had, 
with  entire  lack  of  dignity,  led  his  men  in  three 
cheers  for  the  country,  the  flag,  and  the  Gentile 
governor. 

After  this  offensive  demonstration,  he  had  per 
petrated  the  supreme  indignity  by  going  into  camp 
on  a  bench  at  the  base  of  Wasatch  Mountain,  in 
plain  sight  of  the  city,  there  in  the  light  of  day 
training  his  guns  upon  it,  and  leaving  a  certain 
twelve-pound  howitzer  ranged  precisely  upon  the 
residence  of  the  Lion  of  the  Lord. 

Little  by  little  these  galling  reports  revived  the 
military  spirit  in  an  Elder  far  to  the  south,  who  had 
thought  that  all  passion  was  burned  out  of  him. 
But  this  man  chanced  to  open  a  certain  Bible  one 
night  to  a  page  with  a  wash  of  blood  across  it.  From 
this  page  there  seemed  to  come  such  cries  and 
screams  of  fear  in  the  high  vofces  of  women  and 
children,  such  sounds  of  blows  on  flesh,  and  the 
warm,  salt  smell  of  blood,  that  he  shut  the  book 
and  hastily  began  to  pray.  He  actually  prayed  for 
the  preservation  of  that  ancient  first  enemy  of  his 
Church,  the  government  of  the  United  States.  In 
dividually  and  collectively,  as  a  nation,  as  States, 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         325 

and  as  people,  he  forgave  them  and  prayed  the  Lord 
to  hold  them  undivided. 

Then  he  knew  that  an  astounding  miracle  of 
grace  had  been  wrought  within  him.  For  this 
prayer  for  the  hostile  government  was  thus  far  his 
greatest  spiritual  triumph. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

Just  Before  the  End  of  the  World 

THE  years  of  the  Civil  War  passed  by,  and 
the  prayer  of  Joel  Rae  was  answered.  But 
the  time  was  now  rapidly  approaching  when 
the  Son  of  Man  was  to  come  in  person  to  judge 
Israel  and  begin  his  reign  of  a  thousand  years  on 
the  purified  earth.  The  Twelve,  confirmed  by  Brig- 
ham,  had  long  held  that  this  day  of  wrath  would 
not  be  deferred  past  1870.  In  the  mind  of  Joel 
Rae  the  time  had  thus  been  authoritatively  fixed. 
The  date  had  been  further  confirmed  by  the  fulfil 
ment  of  Joseph's  prophecy  of  war.  The  great  event 
was  now  to  be  prepared  for  and  met  in  all  readiness. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  he  betrayed  in  the  pulpit 
a  leaning  toward  views  that  many  believed  to  be 
heterodox.  •  "  A  likely  man  is  a  likely  man,"  he 
preached,  "  and  a  good  man  is  a  good  man  — 
whether  in  this  Church  or  out  of  it."  He  also  went 
so  far  as  to  intimate  that  being  in  the  Church 
would  not  of  itself  suffice  to  the  attainment  of  glory; 
that  there  were,  to  put  it  bluntly,  all  kinds  of  fish 
in  the  gospel  net;  sinners  not  a  few  in  Zion  who 

326 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         327 

would  have  to  be  forgiven  their  misdeeds  seventy 
times  seven  on  that  fateful  day  drawing  near. 

Bishop  Wright,  who  followed  him  on  this  Sab 
bath,  was  bold  to  speak  to  another  effect. 

"  Me  and  my  brethren,"  he  insisted,  "  have  re 
ceived  our  endowments,  keys,  and  blessings  —  all 
the  tokens  and  signs  that  can  be  given  to  man 
for  his  entrance  through  the  celestial  gate.  If  you 
have  had  these  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  when 
you  depart  this  life  you  will  be  able  to  walk  back 
to  the  presence  of  the  Father,  passing  the  angels 
that  stand  as  sentinels ;  because  why  ?  —  because 
you  can  give  them  the  tokens,  signs,  and  grips  per 
taining  to  the  holy  priesthood  and  gain  your  eternal 
exaltation  in  spite  of  earth  and  hell.  But  how  about 
the  likely  and  good  man  outside  this  Church  who 
has  rejected  the  message  of  the  Book  of  Mormon 
and  ain't  got  these  signs  and  passwords?  If  he's 
going  to  be  let  in,  too,  why  have  doorkeepers, 
and  what's  the  use  of  the  whole  business?  Why 
in  time  did  the  Lord  go  to  all  this  trouble,  any  way, 
if  Brother  Rae  is  right?  Why  was  Joseph  Smith 
visited  by  an  angel  clad  in  robes  of  light,  who  told 
him  where  the  golden  plates  had  been  hid  up  by 
the  Lord,  and  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  and  who 
laid  hands  on  him  and  give  him  the  Holy  Ghost? 
And  after  all  that  trouble  He's  took,  do  you  think 
He's  going  to  let  everybody  in  ?  Not  much,  Mary 
Ann !  The  likely  men  may  come  the  roots  on  some 
of  our  soft-hearted  Elders,  but  they  won't  fool  the 
Lord's  Christ  and  His  angel  gatekeepers." 


328         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

Elder  Beil  Wardle,  on  the  other  hand,  showed 
a  tendency  to  side  with  the  liberalism  of  Brother 
Rae.  He  cited  the  fact  that  not  all  revelations  were 
from  God.  Some  were  from  perverse  human  spirits 
and  some  from  the  very  Devil  himself.  There  was 
Elder  Sidney  Roberts,  who  had  once  suffered  a  rev 
elation  that  a  certain  brother  must  give  him  a  suit 
of  finest  broadcloth  and  a  gold  watch,  the  best  to 
be  had;  and  another  revelation  directing  him  to 
salute  all  the  younger  sisters,  married  or  single, 
with  a  kiss  of  holiness.  Urged  to  confess  that  these 
revelations  were  from  the  Devil,  he  had  refused,  and 
so  had  been  cut  off  and  delivered  over  to  the  buffet- 
ings  of  Satan  in  the  flesh. 

"  And  you  can't  always  be  sure  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  either,"  he  continued.  "  When  the  "Lord 
pours  out  the  Holy  Ghost  on  an  individual,  he  will 
have  spasms,  and  you  would  think  he  was  going  to 
have  fits;  but  it  don't  make  him  get  up  and  go 
pay  his  debts  —  not  by  a  long  shot.  Of  course  I 
don't  feel  to  mention  any  names,  but  what  can  you 
expect,  anyway?  A  flock  of  a  thousand  sheep  has 
got  to  be  mighty  clean  if  some  of  them  ain't  smutty. 
This  is  a  large  flock  of  sheep  that  has  come  up  into 
this  valley  of  the  mountains,  and  some  of  them  have 
got  tag-locks  hanging  about  them.  But  it  don't 
seem  to  pester  the  Lord  any.  He  sifted  us  good 
in  Missouri,  and  He  put  us  into  another  sieve  at  Nau- 
voo,  and  I  reckon  His  sieve  will  be  brought  along 
with  Him  on  the  day  of  judgment.  And  if  there 
are  some  lost  sheep  in  the  fold  of  Zion,  maybe,  on 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         329 

the  other  hand,  there's  some  outside  the  fold  that 
will  be  worth  saving-;  that  will  be  broke  off  from 
the  wild  olive-tree  and  grafted  on  to  the  tame  olive- 
tree  to  partake  of  its  sap  and  fatness." 

Joel  Rae  would  have  taken  more  comfort  in  this 
championship  of  his  views  if  it  were  not  for  his 
suspicion  that  Elder  Wardle  sometimes  spoke  in  a 
tone  of  levity,  and  had  indeed  more  than  once  been 
reckoned  as  a  doubter.  It  was  even  related  of  him 
that  a  perverted  sense  of  humour  had  once  inspired 
him  to  deliver  an  irreverent  and  wholly  immaterial 
address  in  pure  Choctaw  at  a  service  where  many 
others  of  the  faithful  had  been  moved  to  speak 
in  tongues ;  and  that  an  earnest  sister,  believing  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  be  strong  upon  her,  had  thereupon 
arisen  and  interpreted  his  speech  to  be  the  Lord's 
description  of  the  glories  of  their  new  temple,  which 
it  had  not  been  at  all.  Such  a  man  might  have  a 
good  heart,  as  he  knew  Elder  Wardle  to  have; 
but  he  must  be  an  inferior  guide  to  the  Father's 
presence.  He  was  even  less  inclined  to  trust  him 
when  Wardle  announced  confidentially  at  the  close 
of  the  meeting  that  day,  "  Brother  Wright  talks 
a  good  deal  jest  to  hear  his  head  roar.  You'd  think 
he'd  been  the  midwife  at  the  horning  of  the  world, 
and  helped  to  nurse  it  and  bring  it  up  —  he's  that 
knowing  about  it.  My  opinion  is  he  don't  know 
twice  across  or  straight  up  about  the  Lord's  secret 
doings !  " 

Yet  if  he  had  sought  to  render  a  little  elastic 
the  rigid  teachings  of  the  priesthood,  he  had  done 


330         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

so  innocently.  The  foundations  of  his  faith  were 
unshaken ;  for  him  the  rock  upon  which  his  Church 
was  built  had  never  been  more  stable.  As  to  doubt 
ing  its  firmness,  he  would  as  soon  have  blasphemed 
the  Holy  Ghost  or  disputed  the  authority  of  Brig- 
ham,  with  whom  was  the  sacred  deposit  of  doctrine 
and  all  temporal  and  spiritual  power. 

So  he  sighed  often  for  those  Gentile  sheep  on 
whom  the  wrath  of  God  was  so  soon  to  fall.  Even 
with  the  utmost  stretching  of  the  divine  mercy,  the 
greater  part  of  them  must  perish ;  and  for  the  lost 
souls  of  these  he  grieved  much  and  prayed  each 
day. 

It  was  more  than  ten  years  since  that  day  in  the 
Meadows,  and  the  blight  there  put  upon  his  person 
had  waxed  with  each  year.  His  hair  showed  now 
but  the  faintest  sprinkle  of  black,  his  shoulders  were 
bent  and  rounded  as  if  bearing  invisible  burdens, 
and  his  face  had  the  look  of  drooping  in  grief  and 
despair,  as  one  who  was  made  constantly  to  look 
upon  all  the  suffering  of  all  the  world.  Yet  he  wore 
always,  except  when  alone,  a  not  unpleasant  little 
effort  of  a  smile,  as  if  he  would  conceal  his  pain. 
But  this  deceived  few.  The  women  of  the  settle 
ment  had  come  to  call  him  "  the  little  man  of  sor 
rows."  Even  his  wife,  Lorena,  had  divined  that 
his  mind  was  not  one  with  hers;  that,  somehow, 
there  was  a  gulf  between  them  which  her  best- 
meant  cheerfulness  could  not  span.  In  a  measure 
she  had  ceased  to  try,  doing  little  more  than  to 
sing,  when  he  was  near,  some  hymn  which  she  con- 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         331 

sidered   suitable  to   his   condition.      One   favourite 
at  such  times  began :  — 

"  Lord,  we  are  vile,  conceived  in  sin, 
And  born  unholy  and  unclean ; 
Sprung  from  the  man  whose  guilty  fall 
Corrupts  his  race  and  taints  us  all. 

"  Soon  as  we  draw  our  infant  breath, 
The  seeds  of  sin  grow  up  for  death ; 
The  law  demands  a  perfect  heart, 
But  we're  defiled  in  every  part." 

She  would  sing  many  verses  of  this  with  appeal 
ing  unction,  so  long  as  he  was  near;  yet  when  he 
came  upon  her  unawares  he  might  hear  her  voicing 
some  cheerful,  secular  ballad,  like  — 

"  As  I  went  down  to  Coffey's  mills 

Some  pleasure  for  to  see, 
I  fell  in  love  with  a  railroad-er, 
He  fell  in  love  with  me." 

The  stolid  Christina  listened  entranced  to  all  of 
Lorena's  songs,  charmed  by  the  melody  not  less  than 
she  was  awed  by  her  sister-wife's  superior  gifts 
of  language.  The  husband,  too,  listened  not  with 
out  resignation,  reflecting  that,  when  Lorena  did 
not  sing,  she  talked.  For  the  unspeaking  Christina 
he  had  learned  to  feel  an  admiration  that  bordered 
upon  reverence,  finding  in  her  silence  something 
spiritually  great.  Yet  of  the  many-worded  Lorena 
he  was  never  heard  to  complain  through  all  the 
years.  The  nearest  he  approached  to  it  was  on 


332         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

a  day  when  Elder  Beil  Wardle  had  sought  to  con 
dole  with  him  on  the  affliction  of  her  ready  speech. 

"  That  woman  of  yours,"  said  this  observant 
friend,  "  sure  takes  large  pie-bites  out  of  any  little 
talk  that  happens  to  get  going." 

"  She  does  have  the  gift  of  continuance,"  her 
husband  had  admitted.  But  he  had  added,  hastily, 
"  Though  her  heart  is  perfect  with  the  Lord." 

The  fact  that  she  was  sealed  to  him  for  eternity, 
and  that  she  believed  she  would  constitute  one  of 
his  claims  to  exaltation  in  the  celestial  world,  were 
often  matters  of  pious  speculation  with  him.  He 
wondered  if  he  had  done  right  by  her.  She  deserved 
a  husband  who  would  be  saved  into  the  kingdom, 
while  he  who  had  married  her  was  irrevocably  lost. 

There  had  been  a  time  when  he  read  with  fresh 
ened  hope  the  promises  of  forgiveness  in  that  strange 
New  Testament.  Once  he  had  even  believed  that 
these  might  save  him;  that  he  was  again  numbered 
with  the  elect.  But  when  this  belief  had  grown 
firm,  so  that  he  could  seem  to  rest  his  weight  upon 
it,  he  felt  it  fall  away  to  nothing  under  him,  and 
the  truth  he  had  divined  that  day  in  the  desert  was 
again  bared  before  him.  He  saw  that  how  many 
times  soever  God  might  forgive  the  sins  of  a  man, 
it  would  avail  that  man  nothing  unless  he  could 
forgive  himself.  He  knew  at  last  that  in  his  own 
soul  was  fixed  a  gauge  of  right,  unbending  and 
implacable  when  wrong  had  been  done,  waiting 
to  be  reckoned  with  at  the  very  last  even  though 
the  great  God  should  condone  his  sin.  It  seemed  to 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         333 

him  that,  however  surely  his  endowments  took  him 
through  the  gates  of  the  Kingdom,  with  whatsoever 
power  they  raised  him  to  dominion;  even  though 
he  came  into  the  Father's  presence  and  sat  a  throne 
of  his  own  by  the  side  of  Joseph  and  Brigham, 
that  there  would  still  ring  in  his  ears  the  cries  of 
those  who  had  been  murdered  at  the  priesthood's 
command;  that  there  would  leap  before  his  eyes 
fountains  of  blood  from  the  breasts  of  living  women 
who  knelt  and  clung  to  the  knees  of  their  slayers 
—  to  the  knees  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints ;  that  he  would  see  two  spots 
of  white  in  the  dim  light  of  a  morning  where  the 
two  little  girls  lay  who  had  been  sent  for  water; 
that  he  would  see  the  two  boys  taken  out  to  the 
desert,  one  to  die  at  once,  the  other  to  wander  to 
a  slower  death;  that  before  his  sinful  eyes  would 
come  the  dying  face  of  the  woman  who  had  loved 
him  and  lost  her  soul  rather  than  betray  him.  He 
knew  that,  even  in  celestial  realms  exalted  beyond 
the  highest  visions  of  their  priesthood,  his  soul 
would  still  burn  in  this  fire  that  he  could  not  ex 
tinguish  within  his  own  breast.  He  knew  that  he 
carried  hell  as  an  inseparable  part  of  himself,  and 
that  the  forgiveness  of  no  other  power  could  avail 
him.  He  no  longer  feared  God,  but  himself  alone. 
From  this  fire  of  his  own  building  it  seemed  to 
him  that  he  could  obtain  surcease  only  by  reducing 
the  self  within  him.  As  surely  as  he  let  it  feel  a 
want,  all  the  torture  came  back  upon  him.  When 
his  pride  lifted  up  its  head,  when  he  desired  any 


334 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 


satisfaction  for  himself,  when  he  was  tempted  for 
a  moment  to  lay  down  his  cross,  the  cries  came 
back,  the  sea  of  blood  surged  before  him,  and  close 
behind  came  the  shapes  that  crawled  or  moved  fur 
tively,  ever  about  to  spring  in  front  and  turn  upon 
him.  Small  wonder,  then,  that  his  shoulders  bent 
beneath  unseen  burdens,  that  his  air  was  of  one 
who  suffered  for  all  the  world,  and  that  they  called 
him  "  the  little  man  of  sorrows." 

With  this  knowledge  he  learned  to  permit  him 
self  only  one  great  love,  a  love  for  the  child  Pru 
dence.  He  was  sure  that  no  punishment  could  come 
through  that.  It  was  his  day-star  and  his  life, 
the  one  pleasure  that  brought  no  suffering  with  it. 
She  was  a  child  of  fourteen  now,  a  half-wild,  firm- 
fleshed,  glowing  creature  of  the  out-of-doors,  who 
had  lost  with  her  baby  softness  all  her  resemblance 
to  her  mother.  Her  hair  and  eyes  had  darkened 
as  she  grew,  and  she  was  to  be  a  larger  woman, 
graver,  deeper,  more  reserved;  perhaps  better  cal 
culated  for  the  Kingdom  by  reason  of  a  more  re 
flective  mind.  He  adored  her,  and  was  awed  by 
her  even  when  he  taught  her  the  truths  of  revealed 
religion.  He  closed  his  eyes  at  night  upon  a  never- 
ending  prayer  for  her  soul ;  and  opened  them  each 
day  to  a  love  of  her  that  grew  insidiously  to  en 
thrall  him  while  he  was  all  unconscious  of  its  power 
—  even  while  he  knew  with  an  awful  certainty  that 
he  must  have  no  treasure  of  his  own  which  he  could 
not  willingly  relinquish  at  the  first  call.  She,  in 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         335 

turn,   loved   and   confided   in   her   father,   the   shy, 
bent,  shrunken  little  man  with  the  smile. 

"  He  always  smiles  as  if  he'd  hurt  himself  and 
didn't  want  to  show  it  before  company,"  were  the 
words  in  which  she  announced  one  of  her  early 
discoveries  about  him.  But  she  liked  and  ruled 
him,  and  came  to  him  for  comfort  when  she  was 
hurt  or  when  Lorena  scolded.  For  the  third  wife 
did  not  hesitate  to  characterise  the  child  as  "  ready- 
made  sin,"  and  to  declare  that  it  took  all  her  spare 
time,  "  and  a  lot  that  ain't  spare,"  to  neat  up  the 
house  after  her.  "  And  her  paw  —  though  Lord 
knows  who  her  maw  was  —  a-dressing  her  to  beat 
the  cars;  while  he  ain't  never  made  over  me  since 
the  blessed  day  I  married  him  —  not  that  much! 
But,  thank  heavens,  it  can't  last  very  long,  with 
the  Son  of  Man  already  started,  like  you  migh* 
say." 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

The  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains  Offers  to  Become 
a  Saviour  on  Mount  Zion 

IN  the  valley  of  which  Amalon  was  the  centre, 
they  made  ready  for  the  end  of  the  world.     It 
is  true  that  in  the  north,  as  the  appointed  year 
drew  nigh,  an  opinion  had  begun  to  prevail  that 
the   Son   of   Man   might   defer   his   coming;    and 
presently  it  became  known  that  Brigham  himself 
was  doubtful  about  the  year  1870,  and  was  inspiring 
others  to  doubt.     But  in  Amalon  they  were  un 
tainted  by  this  heresy,  choosing  to  rely  upon  what 
Brigham  had  said  in  moments  more  inspired. 

He  had  taught  that  Joseph  was  to  be  the  first 
person  resurrected;  that  after  his  frame  had  been 
knit  together  and  clothed  with  immortal  flesh  he 
would  resurrect  those  who  had  died  in  the  faith, 
according  to  their  rank  in  the  priesthood;  then  all 
his  wives  and  children.  Resurrected  Elders,  having 
had  the  keys  of  the  resurrection  conferred  upon 
them  by  Joseph,  would  in  turn  call  from  the  grave 
their  own  households ;  and  when  the  last  of  the  faith 
ful  had  come  forth,  another  great  work  would  be 

336 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         337 

performed;  the  Gentiles  would  then  be  resurrected 
to  act  as  servants  and  slaves  to  the  Saints.  In  his 
lighter  moments  Brigham  had  been  wont  to  name 
a  couple  of  Presidents  of  the  United  States  who 
would  then  act  as  his  valets. 

Some  doubt  had  been  expressed  that  the  earth's 
surface  could  contain  the  resurrected  host,  but 
Apostle  Orson  Pratt  had  removed  this.  He  cited  the 
prophet  who  had  foretold  that  the  hills  should  be 
laid  low,  the  valleys  exalted,  and  the  crooked  places 
made  straight.  With  the  earth  thus  free  of  moun 
tains  and  waste  places,  he  had  demonstrated  that 
there  would  be  an  acre  and  a  quarter  of  ground  for 
each  Saint  that  had  ever  lived  from  the  morning 
of  creation  to  the  day  of  doom.  And,  lest  some 
carping  mathematician  should  dispute  his  figures, 
he  had  declared  that  if,  by  any  miscalculation,  the 
earth's  surface  should  not  suffice  for  the  Saints  and 
their  Gentile  slaves,  the  Lord  "  would  build  a  gal 
lery  around  the  earth."  Thus  had  confusion  been 
brought  to  the  last  quibbler  in  Zion. 

It  was  this  earlier  teaching  that  the  faithful  of 
Amalon  clung  to,  perhaps  not  a  little  by  reason  that 
immediately  over  them  was  a  spiritual  guide  who 
had  been  trained  from  infancy  to  know  that  salva 
tion  lay  in  belief,  —  never  in  doubt.  For  a  sign  of 
the  end  they  believed  that  on  the  night  before  the  day 
of  it  there  would  be  no  darkness.  This  would  be 
as  it  had  been  before  the  birth  of  the  Saviour,  as 
told  in  the  Book  of  Mormon :  "  At  the  going  down 
of  the  sun  there  was  no  darkness,  and  the  people  be- 


338         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

gan  to  be  astonished  because  there  was  no  darkness 
when  the  night  came;  and  there  was  no  darkness 
in  all  that  night,  but  it  was  as  light  as  if  it  were 
midday." 

They  talked  of  little  but  this  matter  in  that  small 
pocket  of  the  intermountain  commonwealth,  in  Sab 
bath  meetings  and  around  the  hearths  at  night. 
The  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains  thought  all 
proselyting  should  cease  in  view  of  the  approaching 
end;  that  the  Elders  on  mission  should  withdraw 
from  the  vineyard,  shake  the  dust  from  their  feet, 
and  seal  up  the  rebellious  Gentiles  to  damnation. 
To  this  Elder  Beil  Wardle  had  replied,  somewhat 
testily : 

"  Well,  now,  since  these  valleys  of  Ephraim  have 
got  a  little  fattened  a  whole  lot  of  us  have  got  the 
sweeny,  and  our  skins  are  growing  too  tight  on 
our  flesh."  He  had  been  unable  to  comprehend 
that  the  Gentiles  were  a  rejected  lot,  the  lost  sheep 
of  the  house  of  Israel.  On  this  occasion  it  had  re 
quired  all  the  tact  of  Elder  Rae  to  soothe  the  two 
good  men  into  an  amiable  discussion  of  the  time 
when  Sidney  Rigdon  went  to  the  third  heaven  and 
talked  face  to  face  with  God.  They  had  agreed 
in  the  end,  however,  that  they  were  both  of  the 
royal  seed  of  Abraham,  and  were  on  the  grand 
turnpike  to  exaltation. 

To  these  discussions  and  sermons  the  child,  Pru 
dence,  listened  with  intense  interest,  looking  forward 
to  the  last  day  as  an  occasion  productive  of  excite 
ment  even  superior  to  that  of  her  trips  to  Salt  Lake 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         339 

City,  where  her  father  went  to  attend  the  October 
conference,  and  where  she  was  taken  to  the  theatre. 

Of  any  world  outside  the  valley  she  knew  but 
little.  Somewhere,  far  over  to  the  east,  was  a 
handful  of  lost  souls  for  whom  she  sometimes  in 
dulged  in  a  sort  of  luxurious  pity.  But  their  loss, 
after  all,  was  a  part  of  the  divine  plan,  and  they 
would  have  the  privilege  of  serving  the  glorified 
Saints,  even  though  they  were  denied  Godhood.  She 
half-believed  that  even  this  mission  of  service  was 
almost  more  of  glory  than  they  merited ;  for,  in  the 
phrasing  of  Bishop  Wright,  they  "  made  a  hell  all 
the  time  and  raised  devils  to  keep  it  going."  They 
had  slain  the  Prophets  of  the  Lord  and  hunted  his 
people,  and  the  best  of  them  were  lucky,  indeed, 
to  escape  the  fire  that  burns  unceasingly;  a  fire 
hotter  than  any  made  by  beech  or  hickory.  Still 
she  sometimes  wondered  if  there  were  girls  among 
them  like  her;  and  she  had  visions  of  herself  as 
an  angel  of  light,  going  down  to  them  with  the 
precious  message  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  and 
bringing  them  into  the  fold. 

One  day  in  this  spring  when  she  was  fourteen, 
the  good  Bishop  Wright,  on  his  way  down  from 
Box  Canon  with  a  load  of  wood,  saw  her  striding 
up  the  road  ahead  of  him.  Something  caught  his 
eye,  either  in  her  step  which  had  a  child's  careless 
freedom,  or  in  the  lines  of  her  swinging  figure  that 
told  of  coming  womanhood,  or  in  the  flashing, 
laughing  appeal  of  her  dark  eyes  where  for  the 
moment  both  woman  and  child  looked  out.  He 


340         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

set  the  brake  on  his  wagon  and  waited  for  her  to 
pass.  She  came  by  with  a  smile  and  a  word  of 
greeting,  to  which  his  rapt  attention  prevented  any 
reply  except  a  slight  nod.  When  she  had  passed, 
he  turned  and  looked  after  her  until  she  had  gone 
around  the  little  hill  on  the  road  that  entered  the 
canon. 

After  the  early  evening  meal  that  day,  along  the 
many-roomed  house  of  this  good  man,  from  door 
to  door  there  ran  the  words,  starting  from  her  who 
had  last  been  sealed  to  him : 

"  He's  making  himself  all  proud !  " 

They  knew  what  it  meant,  and  wondered  whom. 

A  little  later  the  Bishop  set  out,  his  face  clean 
shaven  to  the  ruffle  of  white  whisker  that  ran  under 
his  chin  from  ear  to  ear,  his  scant  hair  smooth  and 
shining  with  grease  from  the  largest  bear  ever 
trapped  in  the  Pine  Mountains,  and  his  tall  form 
arrayed  in  his  best  suit  of  homespun.  As  he  went 
he  trolled  an  ancient  lay  of  love,  and  youth  was  in 
his  step.  For  there  had  come  all  day  upon  this 
Prince  of  Israel  those  subtle  essences  distilled  by 
spring  to  provoke  the  mating  urge.  At  the  Rae 
house  he  found  only  Christina. 

"Where's  Brother  Joel,  Sister  Rae?" 

"  Himself  has  gone  out  there,"  Christina  had 
answered  with  a  wave  of  her  hand,  and  using  the 
term  of  respect  which  she  always  applied  to  her 
husband. 

He  went  around  the  house,  out  past  the  stable 
and  corrals  and  across  the  irrigating  ditch  to  where 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         341 

he  saw  Joel  Rae  leaning  on  the  rail  fence  about  the 
peach  orchard.  Far  down  between  two  rows  of  the 
blossoming  trees  he  could  see  the  girl  reaching  up 
to  break  off  a  pink-sprayed  bough.  He  quickened 
his  pace  and  was  soon  at  the  fence. 

"  Brother  Joel,  —  I  —  the  —  " 

The  good  man  had  been  full  of  his  message  a 
moment  before,  but  now  he  stammered  and  hesi 
tated  because  of  something  cold  in  the  other's  eye 
as  it  seemed  to  note  the  unwonted  elegance  of  his 
attire.  He  took  a  quick  breath  and  went  on. 

"  You  see  the  Lord  has  moved  me  to  add  another 
star  to  my  crown." 

"I  see ;  and  you  have  come  to  get  me  to  seal 
you?" 

"  Well,  of  course  I  hadn't  thought  of  it  so  soon, 
but  if  you  want  to  do  it  to-night  —  " 

"  As  soon  as  you  like,  Bishop,  —  the  sooner  the 
better  if  you  are  to  save  the  soul  of  another  woman 
against  the  day  of  desolation.  Where  is  she?" 
and  he  turned  to  go  back  to  the  house.  But  the 
Bishop  still  paused,  looking  toward  the  orchard. 

"Well,  the  fact  is,  Brother  Joel,  you  see  the 
Lord  has  made  me  feel  to  have  Prudence  for  another 
star  in  my  crown  of  glory  —  your  daughter  Pru 
dence,"  he  repeated  as  the  other  gazed  at  him  with 
a  sudden  change  of  manner. 

"My  daughter  Prudence  —  little  Prue  —  that 
child  — that  baby?" 

"  Baby  ?  —  she's  fourteen ;  she  was  telling  my 
daughter  Mattie  so  jest  the  other  day,  and  the  Leg- 


342         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

islatur  has  made  the  marrying  age  twelve  for  girls 
and  fifteen  for  boys,  so  she's  two  years  overtime 
already.  Of  course,  I  ain't  fifteen,  but  I'm  safer 
for  her  than  some  young  cub." 

"  But  Bishop  —  you  don't  consider  —  " 

"  Oh,  of  course,  I  know  there's  been  private  talk 
about  her;  nobody  knows  who  her  mother  was, 
and  they  say  whoever  she  was  you  was  never  mar 
ried  to  her,  so  she  couldn't  have  been  born  right, 
but  I  ain't  bigoted  like  some  I  could  name,  and  I 
stand  ready  to  be  her  Saviour  on  Mount  Zion." 

He  waited  with  something  of  noble  concession 
in  his  mien. 

The  other  seemed  only  now  to  have  fully  sensed 
the  proposal,  and,  with  real  terror  in  his  face,  he 
began  to  urge  the  Bishop  toward  the  house,  after 
looking  anxiously  back  to  where  the  child  still 
lingered  with  the  mist  of  pink  blossoms  against 
the  leafless  boughs  above  her. 

"  Come,  Brother  Seth  —  come,  I  beg  of  you  — 
we'll  talk  of  it  —  but  it  can't  be,  indeed  it  can't !  " 

"  Let's  ask  her/'  suggested  the  Bishop,  disinclined 
to  move. 

"  Don't,  don't  ask  her !  "  He  seized  the  other  by 
the  arm. 

"  Come,  I'll  explain ;  don't  ask  her  now,  at  any 
rate  —  I  beg  of  you  as  a  gentleman  —  as  a  gentle 
man,  for  you  are  a  gentleman." 

The  Bishop  turned  somewhat  impatiently,  then 
remarked  with  a  dignified  severity: 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         343 

"  Oh,  I  can  be  a  gentleman  whenever  it's  neces 
sary!" 

They  went  across  the  fields  toward  the  house,  and 
the  Bishop  spoke  further. 

"  There  ain't  any  need  to  get  into  your  high- 
heeled  boots,  Brother  Rae,  jest  because  I  was  aiming 
to  save  her  to  a  crown  of  glory,  —  a  girl  that's 
thought  to  have  been  born  on  the  wrong  side  of 
the  blanket !  " 

They  stopped  by  the  first  corral,  and  Joel  Rae 
talked.  He  talked  rapidly  and  with  power,  saying 
many  things  to  make  it  plain  that  he  was  deter 
mined  not  to  look  upon  the  Wild  Ram  of  the  Moun 
tains  as  an  acceptable  son-in-law.  His  manner  was 
excited  and  distraught,  terrified  and  indignant,  — 
a  manner  hardly  justified  by  the  circumstances,  about 
which  there  was  nothing  extraordinary,  nothing  not 
pleasing  to  God  and  in  conformity  to  His  revealed 
word.  Bishop  Wright  indeed  was  puzzled  to  ac 
count  for  the  heat  of  his  manner,  and  in  recounting 
the  interview  later  to  Elder  Wardle,  he  threw  out 
an  intimation  about  strong  drink.  "  To  tell  you 
the  truth,"  he  said,  "  I  suspicion  he'd  jest  been 
putting  a  new  faucet  in  the  cider  barrel." 

When  Prudence  came  in  from  the  blossoming 
peach-trees  that  night  her  father  called  her  to  him 
to  sit  on  his  lap  in  the  dusk  while  the  crickets  sang, 
and  grow  sleepy  as  had  been  her  baby  habit. 

"What  did  Bishop  Wright  want?"  she  asked, 
after  her  head  was  pillowed  on  his  arm.  Relieved 


344         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

that  it  was  over,  now  even  a  little  amused,  he  told 
her: 

"  He  wanted  to  take  my  little  girl  away,  to  marry 
her." 

She  was  silent  for  a  moment,  and  then : 

"  Wouldn't  that  be  fine,  and  we  could  build  each 
other  up  in  the  Kingdom." 

He  held  her  tighter. 

"Surely,  child,  you  couldn't  marry  him?" 

"  But  of  course  I  could !  Isn't  he  tried  in  the 
Kingdom,  so  he  is  sure  to  have  all  those  thrones 
and  dominions  and  power  ?  " 

"But  child,  child!  That  old  man  with  all  his 
wives  —  " 

"  But  they  say  old  men  are  safer  than  young 
men.  Young  men  are  not  tried  in  the  Kingdom. 
I  shouldn't  like  a  young  husband  anyway  —  they 
always  want  to  play  rough  games,  and  pull  your 
hair,  and  take  things  away  from  you,  and  get  in  the 
way." 

"  But,  baby,  —  don't,  don't  —  " 

"  Why,  you  silly  father,  your  voice  sounds  as 
if  you  were  almost  crying  —  please  don't  hold  me 
so  tight  —  and  some  one  must  save  me  before  the 
Son  of  Man  comes  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead ; 
you  know  a  woman  can't  be  saved  alone.  I  think 
Bishop  Wright  would  make  a  fine  husband,  and  I 
should  have  Mattie  Wright  to  play  with  every  day." 

"And  you  would  leave  me?" 

"Why,  that's  so,  Daddy!  I  never  thought  —  of 
course  I  can't  leave  my  little  sorry  father  —  not  yet. 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         345 

I  forgot  that.  I  couldn't  leave  you.  Now  tell  me 
about  my  mother  again." 

He  told  her  the  story  she  already  knew  so  well  — 
how  beautiful  her  mother  was,  the  look  of  her  hair 
and  eyes,  her  slenderness,  the  music  of  her  voice, 
and  the  gladness  of  her  laugh. 

"  And  won't  she  be  glad  to  see  us  again.  And 
she  will  come  before  Christina  and  Lorena,  because 
she  was  your  first  wife,  wasn't  she?  " 

He  was  awake  all  night  in  a  fever  of  doubt  and 
rebellion.  By  the  light  of  the  candle,  he  read  in 
the  book  of  Mormon  passages  that  had  often  puz 
zled  but  never  troubled  him  until  now  when  they 
were  brought  home  to  him ;  such  as,  "  And  now  it 
came  to  pass  that  the  people  Nephi  under  the  reign 
of  the  second  king  began  to  grow  hard  in  their 
hearts,  and  indulged  themselves  somewhat  in  wicked 
practises,  like  unto  David  of  old,  desiring  many 
wives  —  " 

Again  he  read,  "  Behold,  David  and  Solomon 
truly  had  many  wives,  which  thing  was  abominable 
before  me,  saith  the  Lord." 

Still  again,  "  For  there  shall  not  be  any  man 
among  you  have  save  it  shall  be  one  wife." 

Then  he  turned  to  the  revelation  on  celestial  mar 
riage  given  years  after  these  words  were  written, 
and  in  the  first  paragraph  read : 

"  Verily,  thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  you  my  servant 
Joseph,  that  inasmuch  as  you  have  inquired  of  my 
hand  to  know  and  understand  wherein  I,  the  Lord, 
justified  my  servants  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 


346         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

as  also  Moses,  David,  and  Solomon,  my  servants, 
as  touching  the  principle  and  doctrine  of  their  hav 
ing  many  wives  —  " 

He  turned  from  one  to  the  other ;  from  the  many 
explicit  admonitions  and  commands  against  polyg 
amy,  the  denunciations  of  the  patriarchs  for  their 
indulgence  in  the  practise,  to  this  last  passage  contra 
dicting  the  others,  and  vexed  himself  with  wonder. 
In  the  Book  of  Mormon,  David  was  said  to  be 
wicked  for  doing  this  thing.  Now  in  the  revelation 
to  Joseph  he  read,  "  David's  wives  were  given  unto 
him  of  me,  by  the  hand  of  Nathan,  my  servant." 

He  recalled  old  tales  that  were  told  in  Nauvoo  by 
wicked  apostates  and  the  basest  of  Gentile  scandal 
mongers;  how  that  Joseph  in  the  day  of  his  great 
power  had  suffered  the  purity  of  his  first  faith  to 
become  tainted;  how  his  wife,  Emma,  had  up 
braided  him  so  harshly  for  his  sins  that  he,  fearing 
disgrace,  had  put  out  this  revelation  as  the  word  of 
God  to  silence  her.  He  remembered  that  these 
gossips  had  said  the  revelation  itself  proved  that 
Joseph  had  already  done,  before  he  received  it,  that 
which  it  commanded  him  to  do,  citing  the  clause, 
"  And  let  my  handmaid,  Emma  Smith,  receive  all 
those  that  have  been  given  unto  my  servant  Joseph, 
and  who  are  virtuous  and  pure  before  me." 

They  had  gossiped  further,  that  still  fearing  her 
rebellion,  he  had  worded  a  threat  for  her  in  the  next 
clause,  "  And  I  command  my  handmaid,  Emma 
Smith,  to  abide  and  cleave  unto  my  servant  Joseph 
and  to  none  else.  But  if  she  will  not  abide  this 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         347 

commandment  she  shall  be  destroyed,  saith  the 
Lord ;  for  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  will  destroy 
her  if  she  abide  not  in  my  law  .  .  .  and  again 
verily  I  say,  let  mine  handmaid  forgive  my  servant 
Joseph  his  trespasses  and  then  shall  she  be  forgiven 
her  trespasses." 

This  was  the  calumny  the  Gentile  gossips  back  in 
Nauvoo  would  have  had  the  world  believe,  —  that 
this  great  doctrine  of  the  Church  had  been  given 
to  silence  the  enraged  wife  of  a  man  detected  in  sin. 

But  in  the  midst  of  his  questionings  he  seemed 
to  see  a  truth,  —  that  another  snare  had  been  set 
for  him  by  the  Devil,  and  that  this  time  it  had  caught 
his  feet.  He,  who  knew  that  he  must  have  nothing 
for  himself,  had  all  unconsciously  so  set  his  heart 
upon  this  child  of  her  mother  that  he  could  not 
give  her  up.  And  now  so  fixed  and  so  great  was 
his  love  that  he  could  not  turn  back.  He  knew  he 
was  lost.  To  cling  to  her  would  be  to  question, 
doubt,  and  to  lose  his  faith.  To  give  her  up  would 
kill  him. 

But  at  least  for  a  little  while  he  could  put  it  off. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

How  the  World  Did  not  Come  to  an  End 

IN  doubt  and  fear,  the  phantom  of  a  dreadful 
certainty  creeping  always  closer,  the  final  years 
went  by.  When  the  world  came  to  be  in  its  very 
last  days,  when  the  little  bent  man  was  drooping 
lower  than  ever,  and  Prudence  was  seventeen,  there 
came  another  Prince  of  Israel  to  save  her  into  the 
Kingdom  while  there  was  yet  a  time  of  grace.  On 
this  occasion  the  suitor  was  no  less  a  personage 
than  Bishop  Warren  Snow,  a  holy  man  and  puis 
sant,  upon  whom  the  blessed  Gods  had  abundantly 
manifested  their  favour.  In  wives  and  children, 
in  flocks  and  herds,  he  was  rich;  while,  as  to 
spiritual  worth,  had  not  that  early  church  poet 
styled  him  the  Entablature  of  Truth? 

But  Prudence  Rae,  once  so  willing  to  be  saved 
by  the  excellent  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains,  had 
fled  in  laughing  confusion  from  this  later  bene 
factor,  when  he  had  made  plain  one  day  the  ser 
vice  he  sought  to  do  her  soul.  A  moment  later 
he  had  stood  before  her  father  in  all  his  years  of 
patriarchal  dignity,  hale,  ruddy,  and  vast  of  girth. 

348 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         349 

"  She's  a  woman  now,  Brother  Snow,  —  free  to 
choose  for  herself,"  the  father  had  replied  to  his 
first  expostulations. 

"  Counsel  her,  Brother  Rae."  In  the  mind  of 
the  Bishop,  "  counsel,"  properly  applied,  was  a 
thing  not  long  to  be  resisted. 

"  She  would  treat  my  counsel  as  shortly  as  she 
treated  your  proposal,  Brother  Snow." 

The  Entablature  of  Truth  glanced  out  of  the 
open  door  to  where  Tom  Potwin  could  be  seen, 
hastening  importantly  upon  his  endless  and  mys 
terious  errands,  starting  off  abruptly  a  little  way, 
stopping  suddenly,  with  one  hand  raised  to  his 
head,  as  if  at  that  instant  remembering  a  forgot 
ten  detail,  and  then  turning  with  new  impetus  to 
walk  swiftly  in  the  opposite  direction. 

u  There  ain't  any  one  else  after  her,  is  there, 
Brother  Rae,  —  any  of  these  young  boys  ?  " 

"  No,   Bishop  —  no  one." 

"  Well,  if  there  is,  you  let  me  know.  I'll  be  back 
again,  Brother  Rae.  Meantime,  counsel  her  — 
counsel  her  with  authority." 

The  Entablature  of  Truth  had  departed  with 
certain  little  sidewise  noddings  of  his  head  that 
seemed  to  indicate  an  unalterable  purpose. 

The  girl  came  to  her  father,  blushing  and  still 
laughing  confusedly,  when  the  rejected  one  had 
mounted  his  horse  and  ridden  away. 

"  Oh,  Daddy,  how  funny!  —  to  think  of  marry 
ing  him ! " 


350         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

He  looked  at  her  anxiously.  "  But  you  wanted 
to  marry  Bishop  Wright  —  at  least,  you  —  " 

She  laughed  again.  "  How  long  ago  —  years 
ago  —  I  must  have  been  a  baby." 

"  You  were  old  enough  to  point  out  that  he 
would  save  you  in  the  after-time." 

"  I  remember;  I  could  see  myself  sitting  by  him 
on  a  throne,  with  the  Saints  all  around  us  on  other 
thrones,  and  the  Gentiles  kneeling  to  serve  us.  We 
were  in  a  big  palace  that  had  a  hundred  closets  in 
it,  and  in  every  closet  there  hung  a  silk  dress  for 
me  —  a  hundred  silk  dresses,  each  a  different  col 
our,  waiting  for  me  to  wear  them." 

"But  have  you  thought  sufficiently  —  now? 
The  time  is  short.  Bishop  Snow  could  save  you." 

:*  Yes  —  but  he  would  kiss  me  —  he  wanted  to 
just  now."  She  put  both  hands  over  her  mouth, 
with  a  mocking  little  grimace  that  the  Entablature 
of  Truth  would  not  have  liked  to  see. 

"  He  would  be  certain  to  exalt  you." 

She  took  the  hands  away  long  enough  to  say, 
"  He  would  be  certain  to  kiss  me." 

"  You  may  be  lost." 

"  I'd  rather! " 

And  so  it  had  ended  between  them.  Ever  since 
a  memorable  visit  to  Salt  Lake  City,  where  she  had 
gone  to  the  theatre,  she  had  cherished  some  entirely 
novel  ideas  concerning  matrimony.  In  that  fairy 
land  of  delights  she  had  beheld  the  lover  strangely 
wooing  but  one  mistress,  the  husband  strangely 
cherishing  but  one  wife.  There  had  been  no  talk 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         351 

of  "  the  Kingdom,"  and  no  home  portrayed  where 
there  were  many  wives.  That  lover,  swearing  to 
cherish  but  one  woman  for  ever,  had  thrilled  her 
to  new  conceptions  of  her  own  womanhood,  had 
seemed  to  meet  some  need  of  her  own  heart  that 
she  had  not  until  then  been  conscious  of.  Ever 
after,  she  had  cherished  this  ideal  of  the  stage, 
and  refused  to  consider  the  other.  Yet  she  had 
told  her  father  nothing  of  this,  for  with  her  woman 
hood  had  come  a  new  reserve  —  truths  half -divined 
and  others  clearly  perceived  —  which  she  could  not 
tell  any  one. 

He,  in  turn,  now  kept  secret  from  her  the  delight 
he  felt  at  her  refusal.  He  had  tried  conscientiously 
to  persuade  her  into  the  path  of  salvation,  when 
his  every  word  was  a  blade  to  cut  at  his  heart. 
Nor  was  he  happy  when  she  refused  so  definitely 
the  saving  hand  extended  to  her.  To  know  she 
was  to  come  short  of  her  glory  in  the  after-time 
was  anguish  to  him ;  and  mingling  with  that  an 
guish,  inflaming  and  aggravating  it,  were  his  own 
heretical  doubts  that  would  not  be  gone. 

In  a  sheer  desperation  of  bewilderment  he  longed 
for  the  end,  longed  to  know  certainly  his  own  fate 
and  hers  —  to  have  them  irrevocably  fixed  —  so 
that  he  might  no  more  be  torn  among  many  minds, 
but  could  begin  to  pay  his  own  penalties  in  plain 
suffering,  uncomplicated  by  this  torturing  necessity 
to  choose  between  two  courses  of  action. 

And  the  time  was,  happily,  to  be  short.  With 
the  first  day  of  1870  he  began  to  wait.  With  prayer 


352         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

and  fasting  and  vigils  he  waited.  Now  was  the 
day  when  the  earth  should  be  purified  by  fire,  the 
wicked  swept  from  the  land,  and  the  lost  tribes  of 
Israel  restored  to  their  own.  Now  was  to  come  the 
Son  of  Man  who  should  dwell  in  righteousness 
with  men,  reigning  over  them  on  the  purified  earth 
for  a  thousand  years. 

He  watched  the  mild  winter  go,  with  easy  faith; 
and  the  early  spring  come  and  go,  with  a  dawning 
uneasiness.  For  the  time  was  passing  with  never 
the  blast  of  a  trumpet  from  the  heavens.  He  began 
to  see  then  that  he  alone,  of  all  Amalon,  had  kept 
his  faith  pure.  For  the  others  had  foolishly  sown 
their  fields,  as  if  another  crop  were  to  be  harvested, 
—  as  if  they  must  continue  to  eat  bread  that  was 
earth-grown.  Even  Prudence  had  strangely  ceased 
to  believe  as  he  did.  Something  from  the  outside 
had  come,  he  knew  not  what  nor  how,  to  tarnish  the 
fair  gold  of  her  certainty.  She  had  not  said  so,  but 
he  divined  it  when  he  shrewdly  observed  that  she 
was  seeking  to  comfort  him,  to  support  his  own 
faith  when  day  after  day  the  Son  of  Man  came 
not. 

"  It  will  surely  be  in  another  month,  Daddy  — 
perhaps  next  week  —  perhaps  to-morrow,"  she 
would  say  cheerfully.  "  And  you  did  right  not 
to  put  in  any  crops.  It  would  have  been  wicked  to 
doubt." 

He  quickly  detected  her  insincerity,  seeing  that 
she  did  not  at  all  believe.  As  the  summer  came  and 
went  without  a  sign  from  the  heavens,  she  became 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         353 

more  positive  and  more  constant  in  these  assurances. 
As  the  evening  drew  on,  they  would  walk  out  along 
the  unsown  fields,  now  grown  rankly  to  weeds,  to 
where  the  valley  fell  away  from  their  feet  to  the 
west.  There  they  could  look  over  line  after  line 
of  hills,  each  a  little  dimmer  as  it  lay  farther  into 
the  blue  through  which  they  saw  it,  from  the  bold 
rim  of  the  nearest  shaggy-sided  hill  to  the  farthest 
feathery  profile  all  but  lost  in  the  haze.  Day  after 
day  they  sat  together  here  and  waited  for  the  sign, 
—  for  the  going  down  of  the  sun  upon  a  night 
when  there  should  be  no  darkness ;  when  the  light 
should  stay  until  the  sun  came  back  over  the  eastern 
verge;  when  the  trumpet  should  wind  through  the 
hills,  and  when  the  little  man's  perplexities,  if  not 
his  punishment,  should  be  at  an  end. 

And  always  when  the  dusk  came  she  would  try 
to  cheer  him  to  new  hope  for  the  next  night,  count 
ing  the  months  that  remained  in  the  year,  the  little 
time  within  which  the  great  white  day  must  be. 
Then  they  would  go  back  through  the  soft  light 
of  the  afterglow,  he  with  his  bent  shoulders  and 
fallen  face,  shrunk  and  burned  out,  except  for  the 
eyes,  and  she  in  the  first  buoyant  flush  of  her 
womanhood,  free  and  strong  and  vital,  a  thing  of 
warmth  and  colour  and  luring  curve,  restraining 
her  quick  young  step  to  his,  as  she  suppressed  now 
a  world  of  strange  new  fancies  to  his  soberer  way 
of  thought.  When  they  reached  home  again,  her 
words  always  were :  "  Never  mind,  Daddy  —  it 


354         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

must  come  soon  —  there's  only  a  little  time  left 
in  the  year." 

It  was  on  these  occasions  that  he  knew  she  was 
now  the  stronger,  that  he  was  leaning  on  her,  had, 
in  fact,  long  made  her  his  support  —  fearfully,  lest 
she  be  snatched  away.  And  he  knew  at  last  that 
another  change  had  come  with  her  years ;  that  she 
no  longer  confided  in  him  unreservedly,  as  the  little 
child  had.  He  knew  there  were  things  now  she 
could  not  give  him.  She  communed  with  herself, 
and  her  silences  had  come  between  them.  She 
looked  past  him  at  unseen  forms,  and  listened  as 
if  for  echoes  that  she  alone  could  hear,  waiting 
and  wanting,  knowing  not  her  wants  —  yet  driven 
to  aloofness  by  them  from  the  little  bent  man  of 
sorrows,  whose  whole  life  she  had  now  become. 

His  hope  lasted  hardly  until  the  year  ended. 
Before  the  time  was  over,  there  had  crept  into  his 
mind  a  conviction  that  the  Son  of  Man  would  not 
come;  that  the  Lord's  favour  had  been  withdrawn 
from  Israel.  He  knew  the  cause,  —  the  shedding  of 
innocent  blood.  They  might  have  made  war;  in 
deed,  many  of  the  revelations  to  Joseph  discrim 
inated  even  between  murder  and  that  murder  in 
which  innocent  blood  should  be  shed ;  but  the  truth 
was  plain.  They  had  shed  innocent  blood  that  day 
in  the  Meadows.  Now  the  Lord's  favour  was  with 
drawn  and  His  coming  deferred,  perhaps  another 
thousand  years.  The  torture  of  the  thing  came 
back  to  him  with  all  its  early  colouring,  so  that 
his  days  and  nights  were  full  of  anguish.  He  no 


THE   LIONS   OF    THE   LORD         355 

longer  dared  open  the  Bible  to  that  reddened  page. 
The  cries  already  rang  in  his  ears,  and  he  knew 
not  what  worse  torture  might  come  if  he  looked 
again  upon  the  stain ;  nor  could  he  free  himself 
from  these  by  the  old  expedient  of  prayer,  for  he 
could  no  longer  pray  with  an  honest  heart;  he  was 
no  longer  unselfish,  could  no  longer  kneel  in  per 
fect  submission ;  he  was  wholly  bound  to  this  child 
of  her  mother,  and  the  peace  of  absolute  and  utter 
sacrifice  could  not  come  back  to  him.  Full  of  un 
rest,  feeling  that  somehow  the  end,  at  least  for  him, 
could  not  be  far  off,  he  went  north  to  the  April 
Conference.  He  took  Prudence  with  him,  not  dar 
ing  to  leave  her  behind. 

She  went  with  high  hopes,  alive  with  new  sen 
sations.  Another  world  lay  outside  her  valley  of 
the  mountains,  and  she  was  going  to  peep  over  the 
edge  at  its  manifold  fascinations.  She  had  been 
there  before  as  a  child;  now  she  was  going  as  a 
woman.  She  remembered  the  city,  bigger  and 
grander  than  fifty  Amalons,  with  magnificent  stores 
filled  with  exotic  novelties  and  fearsome  luxuries 
from  the  land  of  the  wicked  Gentile.  She  recalled 
even  the  strange  advertisements  and  signs,  from 
John  and  Enoch  Reese,  with  "  All  necessary  articles 
of  comfort  for  the  wayfarer,  such  as  flour,  hard 
bread,  butter,  eggs  and  vinegar,  buckskin  pants  and 
whip-lashes,"  to  the  "  Surgeon  Dentist  from  Berlin 
and  Liverpool,"  who  would  "  Examine  and  Ex 
tract  Teeth,  besides  keeping  constantly  on  hand  a 
supply  of  the  Best  Matches,  made  by  himself." 


356         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

From  William  Hennefer,  announcing  that,  "  In 
Connection  with  my  Barber  Shop,  I  have  just 
opened  an  Eating  House,  where  Patrons  will  be 
Accommodated  with  every  Edible  Luxury  the  Val 
ley  Affords,"  to  William  Nixon,  who  sold  goods  for 
cash,  flour,  or  wheat  "  at  Jacob  Hautz's  house  on 
the  southeast  corner  of  Council-House  Street  and 
Emigration  Square,  opposite  to  Mr.  Orson 
Spencer's." 

She  remembered  the  hunters  and  trappers  in  be 
draggled  buckskin,  the  plainsmen  with  revolvers  in 
their  belts,  wearing  the  blue  army  cloak,  the  team 
sters  in  leathern  suits,  and  horsemen  in  fur  coats 
and  caps,  buffalo-hide  boots  with  the  hair  outside, 
and  rolls  of  blankets  behind  their  high  Mexican 
saddles. 

More  fondly  did  she  recall  two  wonderful  even 
ings  at  the  theatre.  First  had  been  the  thrilling 
"  Robert  Macaire,"  then  the  romantic  "  Pizarro," 
in  which  Rolla  had  been  a  being  of  such  overwhelm 
ing  beauty  that  she  had  felt  he  could  not  be  of  earth. 

This  time  her  visit  was  an  endless  fever  of  dis 
covery  in  a  realm  of  magic  and  mystery,  of  joys 
she  had  supposed  were  held  in  reserve  for  those  who 
went  behind  the  veil.  It  was  a  new  and  greater 
city  she  came  to  now,  where  were  buildings  of 
undreamed  splendour,  many  of  them  reaching  diz 
zily  three  stories  above  the  earth.  And  the  shops 
were  more  fascinating  than  ever.  She  still  shud 
dered  at  the  wickedness  of  the  Gentiles,  but  with  a 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         357 

certain  secret  respect  for  their  habits  of  luxury 
and  their  profusion  of  devices  for  adornment. 

And  there  were  strange  new  faces  to  be  seen,  peo 
ple  surely  of  a  different  world,  of  a  different  manner 
from  those  she  had  known,  wearing,  with  apparent 
carelessness,  garments  even  more  strangely  elegant 
than  those  in  the  shop  windows,  and  speaking  in 
strange,  soft  accents.  She  was  told  that  these  were 
Gentiles,  tourists  across  the  continent,  who  had  ven 
tured  from  Ogden  to  observe  the  wonders  of  the 
new  Zion.  The  thought  of  the  railroad  was  in 
itself  thrilling.  To  be  so  near  that  wonderful  high 
way  to  the  land  of  the  evil-doers  and  to  a  land, 
alas!  of  so  many  strange  delights.  She  shuddered 
at  her  own  wickedness,  but  fell  again  and  again, 
and  was  held  in  bondage  by  the  allurements  about 
her.  So  thrilled  to  her  soul's  center  was  she  that 
the  pleasure  of  it  hurt  her,  and  the  tears  would 
come  to  her  eyes  until  she  felt  she  must  be  alone 
to  cry  for  the  awful  joy  of  it. 

The  evening  brought  still  more  to  endure,  for 
they  went  to  the  play.  It  was  a  play  that  took 
her  out  of  herself,  so  that  the  crowd  was  lost  to  her 
from  the  moment  the  curtain  went  up  in  obedience 
to  a  little  bell  that  tinkled  mysteriously,  —  either 
back  on  the  stage  or  in  her  own  heart,  she  was  not 
sure  which. 

It  was  a  love  story ;  again  that  strangely  moving 
love  of  one  man  for  one  woman,  that  seemed  as 
sweet  as  it  was  novel  to  her.  But  there  was  war 
between  the  houses  in  the  play,  and  the  young  lover 


358         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

had  to  make  a  way  to  see  his  beloved,  climbing  a 
high  wall  into  her  garden,  climbing  to  her  very 
balcony  by  a  scarf  she  flung  down  to  him.  To  the 
young  woman  from  Amalon,  these  lovers'  voices 
came  with  a  strange  compulsion,  so  that  they  played 
with  her  heart  between  them.  She  was  in  turn  the 
youth,  pleading  in  a  voice  that  touched  every  heart- 
string  from  low  to  high;  then  she  was  the  woman, 
soft  and  timid,  hesitating  in  moments  of  delicious 
doubt,  yet  almost  fearful  of  her  power  to  resist,  — 
half-wishing  to  be  persuaded,  half-frightened  lest 
she  yield. 

When  the  moment  of  surrender  came,  she  became 
both  of  them;  and,  when  they  parted,  it  was  as  if 
her  heart  went  in  twain,  a  half  with  each,  both  to 
ache  until  they  were  reunited.  Between  the  acts 
she  awoke  to  reality,  only  to  say  to  herself :  "  So 
much  I  shall  have  to  think  about  —  so  much  —  I 
shall  never  be  able  to  think  about  it  enough." 

Feverishly  she  followed  the  heart-breaking  trag 
edy  to  its  close,  suffering  poignantly  the  grief  of 
each  lover,  suffering  death  for  each,  and  feeling  her 
life  desolated  when  the  end  came. 

But  then  the  dull  curtain  shut  her  back  into  her 
own  little  world,  where  there  was  no  love  like  that, 
and  beside  the  little  bent  man  she  went  out  into 
the  night. 

The  next  morning  had  come  a  further  delight, 
an  invitation  to  a  ball  from  Brigham.  Most  of  the 
day  was  spent  in  one  of  the  shops,  choosing  a  gown 
of  wondrous  beauty,  and  having  it  fitted  to  her. 


r?ULL    OF  ZEST  FOR    THE 
r     MEASURE    AS   ANY    YOUTH 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         359 

When  she  looked  into  the  little  cracked  mirror  that 
night,  she  saw  a  strange  new  face  and  figure;  and, 
when  she  entered  the  ballroom,  she  felt  that  others 
noted  the  same  strangeness,  for  many  looked  at 
her  until  she  felt  her  cheeks  burn.  Then  Brigham 
arose  from  a  sofa,  where  he  had  been  sitting  with 
his  first  wife  and  his  last,  and  came  gallantly  toward 
her;  Brigham,  whom  she  knew  to  be  the  most 
favoured  of  God  on  earth  and  the  absolute  ruler 
of  all  the  realm  about  her,  —  an  affable,  unpreten 
tious  yet  dignified  gentleman  of  seventy,  who  took 
her  hand  warmly  in  both  his  own,  looked  her  over 
with  his  kindly  blue  eyes,  and  welcomed  her  to 
Zion  in  words  of  a  fatherly  gentleness.  Later, 
when  he  had  danced  with  some  of  his  wives,  Brig- 
ham  came  to  dance  with  her,  light  of  foot  and  full 
of  zest  for  the  measure  as  any  youth. 

Others  danced  with  her,  but  during  it  all  she 
kept  finding  herself  back  before  the  magic  square 
that  framed  the  land  where  a  man  loved  but  one 
woman.  She  remembered  that  Brigham  had  sat 
with  four  of  his  wives  in  one  of  the  boxes,  en 
thusiastically  applauding  that  portrayal  of  a  single 
love.  As  the  picture  came  back  to  her  now,  there 
seemed  to  have  been  something  incongruous  in  this 
spectacle.  She  observed  the  seamed  and  hardened 
features  of  his  earliest  wife,  who  kept  to  the  sofa 
during  the  evening,  beside  the  better  favoured 
Amelia,  whom  the  good  man  had  last  married,  and 
she  thought  of  his  score  or  so  of  wives  between 
them. 


360         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

Then  she  knew  that  what  she  had  seen  the  night 
before  had  been  the  truth;  that  she  could  love  no 
man  who  did  not  love  her  alone.  She  tried  to 
imagine  the  lover  in  the  play  going  from  balcony 
to  balcony,  sighing  the  same  impassioned  love-tale 
to  woman  after  woman;  or  to  imagine  him  with 
many  wives  at  home,  to  whom  would  be  taken  the 
news  of  his  death  in  the  tomb  of  his  last.  So  she 
thought  of  the  play  and  not  of  the  ball,  stepping 
the  dances  absently,  and,  when  it  was  all  over,  she 
fell  asleep,  rejoicing  that,  before  their  death,  the 
two  dear  lovers  had  been  sealed  for  time  and  eter 
nity,  so  that  they  could  awaken  together  in  the 
Kingdom. 

They  went  home  the  next  day,  driving  down  the 
valley  that  rolled  in  billows  of  green  between  the 
broken  ranges  of  the  Wasatch  and  the  Oquirrh. 
It  was  no  longer  of  the  Kingdom  she  thought,  nor 
of  Brigham  and  his  wives;  only  of  a  clean-limbed 
youth  in  doublet  and  hose,  a  plumed  cap,  and  a 
silken  cloak,  who,  in  a  voice  that  brought  the  tears 
back  of  her  eyes,  told  of  his  undying  love  for  one 
woman  —  and  of  the  soft,  tender  woman  in  the 
moonlight,  who  had  trusted  him  and  let  herself  go 
to  him  in  life  and  in  death. 

The  world  had  not  ended.  She  thought  that,  in 
truth,  it  could  not  have  ended  yet;  for  had  she 
not  a  life  to  live? 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

The  Lion  of  the  Lord  Sends  an  Order 

THEY  reached  home  in  very  different  states 
of  mind.     The  girl  was  eager  for  the  soli 
tude   of   her   favourite   nook   in   the   canon, 
where  she  could  dream  in  peace  of  the  wonderland 
she   had   glimpsed;    but   the   little   bent   man   was 
stirred  by  dread  and  chilled  with  forebodings.     To 
him,  as  well  as  to  the  girl,  the  change  in  the  first 
city  of  Zion  had  been  a  thing  to  wonder  at.     But 
what  had  thrilled  her  with  amazed  delight  brought 
pain  to  him.     Zion  was  no  longer  held  inviolate. 

And  now  the  truth  was  much  clearer  to  him. 
Not  only  had  the  Lord  deferred  His  coming,  but 
He  had  set  His  hand  again  to  scatter  Israel  for 
its  sin.  Instead  of  letting  them  stay  alone  in  their 
mountain  retreat  until  the  beginning  of  His  reign 
on  earth,  He  had  brought  the  Gentiles  upon  them 
in  overwhelming  numbers.  Where  once  a  thou 
sand  miles  of  wilderness  lay  between  them  and  Gen 
tile  wickedness,  they  were  now  hemmed  about  with 
it,  and  even  it  polluted  the  streets  of  the  holy  city 
itself. 


362          THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

Far  on  the  east  the  adventurous  Gentile  had  first 
pushed  out  of  the  timber  to  the  richly  grassed 
prairies;  then,  later,  on  to  the  plains,  scorched 
brown  with  their  sparse  grass,  driving  herds  of 
cattle  ahead,  and  stopping  to  make  farms  by  the 
way.  And  now  on  the  west,  on  the  east,  and  on 
the  north,  the  Lord  had  let  them  pitch  their  tents 
and  build  their  cabins,  where  they  would  barter 
their  lives  for  gold  and  flocks  and  furs  and  timber, 
for  orchard  fruits  and  the  grains  of  the  field.  Little 
by  little  they  had  ventured  toward  the  outer  ram 
parts  of  Israel,  their  numbers  increasing  year  by 
year,  and  the  daring  of  their  onslaughts  against  the 
desert  and  mountain  wastes.  With  the  rifle  and  the 
axe  they  had  made  Zion  but  a  station  on  the  great 
highway  betwreen  the  seas;  a  place  where  curious 
and  irreverent  Gentiles  stopped  to  gaze  in  wonder 
at  and  perhaps  to  mock  the  Lord's  chosen;  a  place 
that  would  become  but  one  link  in  a  chain  of  Gen 
tile  cities,  that  would  be  forced  to  conform  to  the 
meretricious  customs  of  Gentile  benightedness. 

It  had  been  a  fine  vengeance  upon  them  for  their 
sin;  one  not  unworthy  of  Him  who  wrought  it. 
It  had  come  so  insidiously,  with  such  apparent 
naturalness,  little  by  little  —  a  settler  here,  a  set 
tler  there;  here  an  acre  of  gray  desert  charmed 
to  yellow  wheat;  there  a  pouch  of  shining  gold 
washed  from  the  burning  sands;  another  wagon- 
train  with  hopeful  men  and  faithful  women ;  a  cabin, 
two  cabins,  a  settlement,  a  schoolhouse,  a  land  of 
unwalled  villages,  —  and  democracy;  a  wicked  gov- 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         363 

ernment  of  men  set  up  in  the  very  face  and  front  of 
God-governed  Israel. 

At  first  they  had  come  with  ox-teams,  but  this 
was  slow,  and  the  big  Kentucky  mules  brought 
them  faster;  then  had  come  the  great  rolling  Con 
cord  stages  with  their  six  horses;  then  the  folly 
of  an  electric  telegraph,  so  that  instant  communica 
tion  might  be  had  with  far-off  Babylon;  and  now 
the  capstone  in  the  arch  of  the  Lord's  vengeance, 
—  a  railway,  —  flashing  its  crowded  coaches  over 
the  Saints'  old  trail  in  sixty  easy  hours,  —  a  trail 
they  had  covered  with  their  oxen  in  ninety  days 
of  hardship.  The  rock  of  their  faith  would  now 
be  riven,  the  veil  of  their  temple  rent,  and  their 
leaders  corrupted. 

Even  of  Brigham,  the  daring  already  told  tales 
that  promised  this  last  thing  should  come  to  pass; 
how  he  was  become  fat-souled,  grasping,  and  tricky, 
using  his  sacred  office  to  enlarge  his  wealth,  seiz 
ing  the  canons  with  their  precious  growths  of  wood, 
the  life-giving  waterways,  and  the  herding-grounds ; 
taking  even  from  the  tithing,  of  which  he  rendered 
no  stewardship,  and  hiding  away  millions  of  the 
dollars  for  which  the  faithful  had  toiled  themselves 
into  desert  graves.  Truly,  thought  Joel  Rae,  that 
bloody  day  in  the  Meadows  had  been  cunningly 
avenged. 

One  morning,  a  few  weeks  after  he  had  reached 
home  from  the  north,  he  received  a  call  from  Seth 
Wright. 

"  Here's  a  letter   Brother   Brigham   wanted  me 


364         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

to  be  sure  and  give  you,"  said  this  good  man.  "  He 
said  he  didn't  know  you  was  allowing  to  start  back 
SO  soon,  or  he'd  have  seen  you  in  person." 

He  took  the  letter  and  glanced  at  the  superscrip 
tion,  written  in  Brigham's  rather  unformed  but 
plain  and  very  decided-looking  hand. 

"  So  you've  been  north,  Brother  Seth  ?  What  do 
you  think  of  Israel  there?" 

The  views  of  the  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains 
partook  in  certain  ways  of  his  own  discouragement. 

"  Zion  has  run  to  seed,  Brother  Rae;  the  rank 
weeds  of  Babylon  is  a-goin'  to  choke  it  out,  root 
and  branch !  We  ain't  got  no  chance  to  live  a  pure 
and  Godly  life  any  longer,  with  railroads  coming 
in,  and  Gentiles  with  their  fancy  contraptions.  It 
weakens  the  spirit,  and  it  plays  the  very  hob  with 
the  women.  Soon  as  they  git  up  there  now,  and 
see  them  new  styles  from  St.  Looey  or  Chicago, 
they  git  downright  daft.  No  more  homespun  for 
'em,  no  more  valley  tan,  no  more  parched  corn  for 
coffee,  nor  beet  molasses  nor  unbolted  flour.  Oh, 
I  know  what  I'm  talkin'  about." 

The  tone  of  the  good  man  became  as  of  one  who 
remembers  hurts  put  upon  his  own  soul.  He  con 
tinued  : 

"  You  no  sooner  let  a  woman  git  out  of  the  wagon 
there  now  than  she's  crazy  for  a  pink  nubia,  and 
a  shell  breastpin,  and  a  dress-pattern,  and  a  whole 
bolt  of  factory  and  a  set  of  chiny  cups  and  saucers 
and  some  of  this  here  perfumery  soap.  And  that 
don't  do  'em.  Then  they  let  out  a  yell  for  varnished 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         365 

rockin'-cheers  with  flowers  painted  all  over  'em  in 
different  colours,  and  they  tell  you  they  got  to  have 
bristles  carpet  —  bristles  on  it  that  long,  prob'ly !  " 
The  injured  man  indicated  a  length  of  some  eight 
een  or  twenty  inches. 

"  Of  course  all  them  grand  things  would  please 
our  feelings,  but  they  take  a  woman's  mind  off  of 
the  Lord,  and  she  neglects  her  work  in  the  field,  and 
then  pretty  soon  the  Lord  gets  mad  and  sics  the 
Gentiles  on  to  us  again.  But  I  made  my  women  toe 
the  mark  mighty  quick.  I  told  'em  they  could  all 
have  one  day  a  week  to  work  out,  and  make  a  little 
pin-money,  hoein'  potatoes  or  plantin'  corn  or  some 
such  business,  and  every  cent  they  earned  that  way 
they  could  squander  on  this  here  pink-and-blue 
soap,  if  they  was  a  mind  to;  but  not  a  York  shil 
ling  of  my  money  could  they  have  for  such  per 
suasions  of  Satan  —  not  while  we  got  plenty  of 
soap-grease  and  wood-ashes  to  make  lye  of  and  a 
soap-kittle  that  cost  four  eighty-five,  in  the  very 
Lord's  stronghold.  I  dress  my  women  comfortable 
and  feed  'em  well  —  not  much  variety  but  plenty 
of,  and  I've  done  right  by  'em  as  a  husband,  and 
I  tell  'em  if  they  want  to  be  led  away  now  into 
the  sinful  path  of  worldliness,  why,  I  ain't  goin' 
to  have  any  ruthers  about  it  at  all !  But  you  be 
careful,  Brother  Rae,  about  turning  your  women 
loose  in  one  of  them  ungodly  stores  up  there.  That 
reminds  me,  you  had  Prudence  up  to  Conference, 
and  I  guess  you  don't  know  what  that  letter's 
about." 


366         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  Why,  no;    do  you?  " 

"  Well,  Brother  Brigham  only  let  a  word  or  two 
drop,  but  plain  enough ;  he  don't  have  to  use  many. 
He  was  a  little  mite  afraid  some  one  down  here 
would  cut  in  ahead  of  him." 

Joel  Rae  had  torn  open  the  big  blue  envelope  in 
a  sudden  fear,  and  now  he  read  in  Brigham's  well- 
known  script :  — 

"  DEAR  BROT.  JOEL  :  — 

"  I  was  ancus  to  see  more  of  your  daughter,  and 
would  of  kept  her  hear  at  my  house  if  you  had 
not  hurried  off.  I  will  let  you  seal  her  to  me  when 
I  come  to  Pine  valle  next,  late  this  summer  or 
after  Oct.  conference.  If  anything  happens  and 
I  am  to  bisy  will  have  you  bring  her  hear.  Tell 
her  of  this  and  what  it  will  mean  to  her  in  the 
Lord's  kingdom  and  do  not  let  her  company  with 
gentiles  or  with  any  of  the  young  brethren  around 
there  that  might  put  Notions  into  her  head.  Try 
to  due  right  and  never  faint  in  well  duing,  keep 
the  faith  of  the  gospel  and  I  pray  the  Lord  to 
bless  you.  BRIGHAM  YOUNG." 

The  shrewd  old  face  of  the  Bishop  had  wrinkled 
into  a  smile  of  quiet  observation  as  the  other  read 
the  letter.  In  relating  the  incident  to  the  Entab 
lature  of  Truth  subsequently,  he  said  of  Joel  Rae 
at  the  moment  he  looked  up  from  this  letter :  "  He'll 
never  be  whiter  when  he's  dead !  I  see  in  a  minute 
that  the  old  man  had  him  on  the  bark." 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         367 

"  You  know  what's  in  this,  Brother  Seth  —  you 
know  that  Brigham  wants  Prudence?"  Joel  Rae 
had  asked,  looking  up  from  the  letter,  upon  which 
both  his  hands  had  closed  tightly. 

"  Well,  I  told  you  he  dropped  a  word  or  two, 
jest  by  way  of  keeping  off  the  Princes  of  Israel 
down  here." 

"  I  must  go  to  Salt  Lake  at  once  and  talk  to 
him." 

"  Take  her  along ;  likely  he'll  marry  her  right 
off." 

"  But  I  can't  —  I  couldn't  —  Brother  Seth,  I 
wish  her  not  to  marry  him." 

The  Bishop  stared  blankly  at  him,  his  amazement 
freezing  upon  his  lips,  almost,  the  words  he  ut 
tered. 

"  Not  —  want  —  her  —  to  marry  —  Brother 
Brigham  Young,  Prophet,  Seer,  and  Revelator, 
President  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter- 
day  Saints  in  all  the  world !  " 

"  I  must  go  up  and  talk  to  him  at  once." 

"  You  won't  talk  him  oat  of  it.  Brother  Brig- 
ham  has  the  habit  of  prevailing.  Of  course,  he's 
closer  than  Dick's  hat-band,  but  she'll  have  the 
best  there  is  until  he  takes  another." 

"  He  may  listen  to  reason  —  " 

"  Reason?  —  why,  man,  what  more  reason  could 
he  want,  —  with  that  splendid  young  critter  before 
him,  throwing  back  her  head,  and  flashing  her  big, 
shiny  eyes,  and  lifting  her  red  lips  over  them  little 


368         THE  LIONS   OF  THE  LORD 

white  teeth  —  reason  enough  for  Brother  Brigham 

—  or  for  other  people  I  could  name !  " 

"  But  he  wouldn't  be  so  hard  —  taking  her  away 
from  me  —  " 

Something  in  the  tones  of  this  appeal  seemed 
to  touch  even  the  heart  of  the  Wild  Ram  of  the 
Mountains,  though  it  told  of  a  suffering  he  could 
not  understand. 

"  Brigham  is  very  sot  in  his  ways,"  he  said,  after 
a  little,  with  a  curious  soft  kindness  in  his  voice,  — 
"  in  fact,  a  softer  man  I  never  knew !  " 

He  drove  off,  leaving  the  other  staring  at  the 
letter  now  crumpled  in  his  hand.  He  also  said, 
in  his  subsequent  narrative  to  the  Entablature  of 
Truth :  "  You  know  I've  always  took  Brother  Rae 
for  jest  a  natural  born  not,  a  shy  little  cuss  that 
could  be  whiffed  around  by  anything  and  every 
thing,  but  when  I  drove  off  he  had  a  plumb  ornery 
fighting  look  in  them  deep-set  eyes  of  his,  and 
blame  me  if  I  didn't  someway  feel  sorry  for  him, 

—  he's  that  warped  up,  like  an  old  water-soaked 
sycamore  plank  that  gits  laid  out  in  the  sun." 

But  this  look  of  belligerence  had  quickly  passed 
from  the  face  of  Joel  Rae  when  the  first  heat  of 
his  resentment  had  cooled. 

After  that  he  merely  suffered,  torn  by  his  rev 
erence  for  Brigham,  who  represented  on  earth  no 
less  a  power  than  the  first  person  of  the  Trinity, 
and  by  the  love  for  this  child  who  held  him  to  a 
past  made  beautiful  by  his  love  for  her  mother, 

—  by  a  thousand  youthful  dreams  and  fancies  and 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         369 

wayward  hopes  that  he  had  kept  fresh  through  all 
the  years;  torn  between  Brigham,  whose  word  was 
as  the  word  of  God,  and  Prudence  who  was  the 
living  flower  of  her  dead  mother  and  all  his  dead 
hopes. 

Could  he  persuade  Brigham  to  leave  her?  The 
idea  of  refusing  him,  if  he  should  persist,  was  not 
seriously  to  be  thought  of.  For  twenty-five  years 
he,  in  common  with  the  other  Saints,  had  held 
Brigham's  lightest  command  to  be  above  all  earthly 
law;  to  be  indeed  the  revealed  will  of  God.  His 
kingship  in  things  material  no  less  than  in  things 
spiritual  had  been  absolute,  undisputed,  undoubted 
—  indeed,  gloried  in  by  the  people  as  much  as  Brig- 
ham  himself  gloried  when  he  declared  it  in  and 
out  of  the  tabernacle.  Their  blind  obedience  had 
been  his  by  divine  right,  by  virtue  of  his  iron  will, 
his  matchless  courage,  his  tireless  spirit,  and  his 
understanding  of  their  hearts  and  their  needs,  born 
of  his  common  suffering  with  them.  Nothing  could 
be  done  without  his  sanction.  No  man  could  enter 
a  business,  or  change  his  home  from  north  to  south, 
without  first  securing  his  approval;  even  the  mer 
chants  who  went  east  or  wes  Tor  goods  must  first 
report  to  him  their  wishes,  to  see  if  he  had  con 
trary  orders  for  them.  From  the  invitation  list 
of  a  ball  to  the  financing  of  a  corporation,  his  word 
was  law;  in  matters  of  marriage  as  well  —  no 
man  daring  even  to  seek  a  wife  until  the  Prophet 
had  approved  his  choice.  The  whole  valley  for  five 
hundred  miles  was  filled  with  his  power  as  with 


370         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

another  air  that  the  Saints  must  breathe.  In  his 
oft-repeated  own  phrase,  it  was  his  God-given  right 
to  dictate  all  matters,  "  even  to  the  ribbons  a  woman 
should  wear,  or  the  setting  up  of  a  stocking."  And 
his  people  had  not  only  submitted  blindly  to  his 
rule,  but  had  reverenced  and  even  loved  him  for  it. 

Twenty-five  years  of  such  allegiance,  preceded 
by  a  youth  in  which  the  same  gospel  of  obedience 
was  bred  into  his  marrow  —  this  was  not  to  be 
thrown  off  by  a  mere  heartache;  not  to  be  more 
than  striven  against,  half-heartedly,  in  the  first 
moment  of  anguish. 

He  thought  of  Brigham's  home  in  the  Lion 
House,  the  score  or  so  of  plain,  elderly  women, 
hard-working,  simple-minded;  the  few  favourites 
of  his  later  years,  women  of  sightlier  exteriors ;  and 
he  pictured  the  long  dining-room,  where,  at  three 
o'clock  each  afternoon,  to  the  sound  of  a  bell,  these 
wives  and  half  a  hundred  children  marched  in,  while 
the  Prophet  sat  benignantly  at  the  head  of  the  table 
and  blessed  the  meal.  He  tried  to  fix  Prudence 
in  this  picture,  but  at  every  effort  he  saw,  not  her, 
the  shy,  sweet  woman,  full  of  surprised  tenderness, 
but  a  creature  hardti.  d,  debased,  devoid  of  charm, 
dehumanised,  a  brood-beast  of  the  field. 

And  yet  this  was  not  rebellion.  His  mind  was 
clear  as  to  that.  He  could  not  refuse,  even  had 
refusal  not  been  to  incur  the  severest  penalties  both 
in  this  world  and  in  the  world  to  come.  The  habit 
of  obedience  was  all-powerful. 

Presently  he  saw   Prudence  coming  across  the 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         371 

fields  in  the  late  afternoon  from  the  road  that  led 
to  the  canon.  He  watched  her  jealously  until  she 
drew  near,  then  called  her  to  him.  In  a  few  words 
he  told  her  very  gravely  the  honour  that  was  to 
be  done  her. 

When  she  fully  understood,  he  noted  that  her 
mind  seemed  to  attain  an  unusual  clearness,  her 
speech  a  new  conciseness ;  that  she  was  displaying 
a  force  of  will  he  had  never  before  suspected. 

Her  reply,  in  effect,  was  that  she  would  not 
marry  Brigham  Young  if  all  the  angels  in  heaven 
came  to  entreat  her;  that  the  thought  was  not  a 
pretty  one ;  and  that  the  matter  might  be  considered 
settled  at  that  very  moment.  "  It's  too  silly  to  talk 
about,"  she  concluded. 

Almost  fearfully  he  looked  at  her,  yielding  a 
little  to  her  spirit  of  rebellion,  yet  trying  not  to 
yield ;  trying  not  to  rejoice  in  the  amused  flash 
of  her  dark  eyes  and  the  decision  of  her  tones. 
But  then,  as  he  looked,  and  as  she  still  faced  him, 
radiant  in  her  confidence,  he  felt  himself  going  with 
her  —  plunging  into  the  tempting  wave  of  apostasy. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

A  New  Face  in  the  Dream 

IN  a  settled  despair  the  little  bent  man  waited 
for  the  end.  Already  he  felt  himself  an  out 
cast  from  Israel.  In  spirit  he  had  disobeyed 
the  voice  of  Brigham,  which  was  the  voice  of  God ; 
exulting  sinfully  in  spite  of  himself  in  this  rebellion. 
Praying  to  be  bowed  and  bent  and  broken,  to  have 
all  trace  of  the  evil  self  within  him  burned  out, 
he  had  now  let  that  self  rise  up  again  to  cry  out 
a  want.  Praying  that  crosses  might  daily  be  added 
to  his  burden,  he  had  now  refused  to  take  up  one 
the  bearing  of  which  might  have  proved  to  Heaven 
the  extinction  of  his  last  selfish  desire.  He  had 
been  put  to  the  test,  as  he  prayed  to  be,  and  he 
had  failed  miserably  to  meet  it.  And  now  he  knew 
that  even  his  life  was  waning  with  his  faith. 

During  the  year  when  he  waited  for  the  end  of 
the  world,  he  had  been  nerved  to  an  unwonted 
vigour.  Now  he  was  weak  arfd  fit  for  no  further 
combat.  He  waited,  with  an  indifference  that 
amazed  him,  for  the  day  when  he  should  openly 
defy  Brigham,  and  have  penalties  heaped  upon  him. 

372 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         373 

First  he  would  be  ordered  on  a  mission  to  some 
far  corner  of  the  world.  It  would  mean  that  he 
must  go  alone,  "  without  purse  or  scrip,"  leaving 
Prudence.  He  would  refuse  to  go.  Thereupon 
he  would  be  sternly  disfellowshiped.  Then,  hav 
ing  become  an  apostate,  he  would  be  a  fair  mark 
for  many  things,  perhaps  for  simple  persecution  — 
perhaps  for  blood  atonement.  He  had  heard  Brig- 
ham  himself  say  in  the  tabernacle  that  he  was  ready 
to  "  unsheathe  his  bowie  knife  "  and  send  apostates 
"  to  hell  across  lots." 

He  was  ready  to  welcome  that.  It  were  easier 
to  die  now  than  to  live;  and,  as  for  being  cut  off 
from  his  glory  in  the  after-time,  he  had  already 
forfeited  that;  would  miss  it  even  if  he  died  in 
fellowship  with  Brigham  and  full  of  churchly  hon 
ours  ;  would  miss  it  even  if  the  power  on  high 
should  forgive  him,  —  for  he  himself,  he  knew,  could 
not  forgive  his  own  sin.  So  it  was  little  matter 
about  his  apostasy,  and  Prudence  should  be  saved 
from  a  wifehood  that,  ever  since  he  had  pictured 
her  in  it,  had  seemed  to  him  for  the  first  time 
unspeakably  bad. 

They  talked  but  little  about  it  that  day,  after  her 
first  abrupt  refusal.  There  was  too  much  for  each 
of  them  to  think  of.  He  was  obliged  to  dwell 
upon  the  amazing  fact  that  he  must  lie  in  hell  until 
he  could  win  his  own  forgiveness,  regardless  of 
what  gentle  pardoning  might  be  his  from  God. 
This,  to  him,  simple  and  obvious  truth,  was  now 
his  daily  torture. 


374         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

As  for  Prudence,  she  had  to  be  alone  to  dream 
her  dreams  of  a  love  that  should  be  always  single. 
Brigham's  letter,  far  from  disturbing  these,  had 
brought  them  a  zest  hitherto  lacking.  Neither  the 
sacrilege  of  refusing  him,  its  worldly  unwisdom, 
nor  its  possible  harm  to  the  little  bent  man  of  sor 
rows,  had  as  yet  become  apparent  to  her.  Each 
day,  when  such  duties  as  were  hers  in  the  house 
had  been  performed,  she  walked  out  to  be  alone,  — 
always  to  Box  Canon,  that  green-sided  cleft  in  the 
mountain,  with  the  brook  lashing  itself  to  a  white 
fury  over  the  boulders  at  the  bottom.  She  would 
go  up  out  of  the  hot  valley  into  its  cool  freshness 
and  its  pleasant  wood  smells,  and  there,  in  the 
softened  blue  light  of  a  pine-hung  glade,  she  would 
rest,  and  let  her  fancy  build  what  heaven-reaching 
towers  it  would.  On  some  brown  bed  of  pine- 
needles,  or  on  a  friendly  gray  boulder  close  by  the 
water-side,  where  she  could  give  her  eyes  to  its 
flow  and  foam,  and  her  ears  to  its  music,  —  music 
like  the  muffled  tinkling  of  little  silver  bells  in  the 
distance,  —  she  would  let  herself  go  out  to  her 
dream  with  the  joyous,  reckless  abandon  of  falling 
water. 

It  was  commonly  a  dream  of  a  youth  in  doublet 
and  hose,  a  plumed  cap,  and  a  cloak  of  purple  satin, 
who  came  in  the  moonlight  to  the  balcony  of  his 
love,  and  sighed  his  passion  in  tones  so  moving 
that  she  thought  an  angel  must  have  yielded  —  as 
did  the  girl  in  the  balcony  who  had  let  down  the 
scarf  to  him.  She  already  knew  how  that  girl's 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         375 

heart  must  have  fluttered  at  the  moment,  —  how 
she  must  have  felt  that  the  hands  were  mad,  wicked, 
uncontrollable  hands,  no  longer  her  own. 

There  was  one  place  in  the  dream  that  she  man 
aged  not  without  some  ingenuity.  It  had  to  be 
made  plain  that  the  lover  under  the  window  did 
not  come  from  a  long,  six-doored  house,  with  a 
wife  behind  each  door;  that  this  girl,  pale  in  the 
moonlight,  with  quickening  heart  and  rebellious 
hands  on  the  scarf,  and  arms  that  should  open  to 
him,  was  to  be  not  only  his  first  wife  but  his  last; 
'that  he  was  never  even  to  consider  so  much  as  the 
possibility  of  another,  but  was  to  cleave  unto  her, 
and  to  love  her  with  a  single  heart  for  all  the  days 
of  her  life  and  his  own. 

There  were  various  ways  of  bringing  this  cir 
cumstance  forward.  Usually  she  had  Brigham 
march  on  at  the  head  of  his  great  family  and  coun 
sel  the  youth  to  take  more  wives,  in  order  that  he 
should  be  exalted  in  the  Kingdom.  Whereupon 
the  young  man  would  fold  his  love  in  his  arms 
and  speak  words  of  scorn,  in  the  same  thrilling 
manner  that  he  spoke  his  other  words,  for  any  ex 
altation  which  they  two  could  not  share  alone. 
Brigham,  at  the  head  of  his  wives,  would  then  slink 
off,  much  abashed. 

She  had  come  naturally  to  see  her  own  face  as 
the  face  of  this  happily  loved  girl  in  the  dream. 
She  knew  no  face  for  the  youth.  There  was  none 
in  Amalon ;  not  Jarom  Tanner,  six  feet  three,  who 
became  a  helpless,  grinning  child  in  her  presence; 


376         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

nor  Moroni  Peterson,  who  became  a  solemn  and 
ghastly  imbecile;  nor  Ammaron  Wright,  son  of 
the  Bishop,  who  had  opened  the  dance  of  the  Young 
People's  Auxiliary  with  prayer,  and  later  tried  to 
kiss  her  in  a  dark  corner  of  the  room.  So  the  face 
of  the  other  person  in  her  dream  remained  of  an 
unknown  heavenly  beauty. 

And  then  one  afternoon  in  early  May  a  strange 
youth  came  singing  down  the  canon;  came  while 
she  mused  by  the  brook-side  in  her  best-loved  dream. 
Long  before  she  saw  him,  she  heard  his  music,  a 
young,  clear,  care-free  voice  ringing  down  from  the 
trail  that  went  over  the  mountains  to  Kanab  and 
into  Kimball  Valley;  one  of  the  ways  that  led  out 
to  the  world  that  she  wondered  about  so  much. 
It  was  a  voice  new  to  her,  and  the  words  of  his 
ballad  were  also  new.  At  first  she  heard  tliem  from 
afar :  — 

"  There  was  a  young  lady  came  a-tripping  along, 

And  at  each  side  a  servant-O, 
And  in  each  hand  a  glass  of  wine 
To  drink  with  the  Gypsy  Davy-O. 

"  And  will  you  fancy  me,  my  dear, 
And  will  you  be  my  Honey-O  ? 
I  swear  by  the  sword  that  hangs  by  my  side 
You  shall  never  want  for  money-O. 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  will  fancy  you,  kind  sir, 

And  I  will  be  your  Honey-O, 

If  you  swear  by  the  sword  that  hangs  by  your  side 
I  shall  never  want  for  money-O." 

The  singer  seemed  to  be  making  his  way  slowly. 
Far  up  the  trail,  she  had  one  fleeting  glimpse  of 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         377 

a  man  on  a  horse,  and  then  he  was  hid  again  in 
the  twilight  of  the  pines.      But  the  music  came 

nearer :  — 

"  Then  she  put  on  her  high-heeled  shoes, 

All  made  of  Spanish  leather-O, 
And  she  put  on  her  bonnie,  bonnie  brown, 
And  they  rode  off  together-O. 

"  Soon  after  that,  her  lord  came  home 

Inquiring  for  his  lady-O, 
When  some  of  the  servants  made  this  reply, 
She's  a-gone  with  the  Gypsy  Davy-O. 

"  Then  saddle  me  my  milk-white  steed, 

For  the  black  is  not  so  speedy-O, 
And  I'll  ride  all  night  and  I'll  ride  all  day 
Till  I  overtake  my  lady-O." 

She  stood  transfixed,  something  within  her  re 
sponding  to  the  hidden  singer,  as  she  had  once 
heard  a  closed  piano  sound  to  a  voice  that  sang 
near  it.  Soon  she  could  get  broken  glimpses  of 
him  as  he  wound  down  the  trail,  now  turning 
around  the  end  of  a  fallen  tree,  then  passing  behind 
a  giant  spruce,  now  leaning  far  back  while  the 
horse  felt  a  way  cautiously  down  some  sharp  little 
declivity.  The  impression  was  confused,  —  a  glint 
of  red,  of  blue,  of  the  brown  of  the  horse,  a  figure 
swaying  loosely  to  the  horse's  movements,  and  then 
he  was  out  of  sight  again  around  the  big  rock  that 
had  once  fallen  from  high  up  on  the  side  of  the 
canon;  but  now,  when  he  came  from  behind  that, 
he  would  be  squarely  in  front  of  her.  This  recalled 
and  alarmed  her.  She  began  to  pick  a  way  over 


378         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

the  boulders  and  across  the  trail  that  lay  between 
her  and  the  edge  of  the  pines,  hearing  another  verse 
of  the  song  almost  at  her  ear :  — 

"  He  rode  all  night  and  he  rode  all  day, 

Till  he  came  to  the  far  deep  water-O, 

Then  he  stopped  and  a  tear  came  a-trickling  down  his  cheek, 
For  there  he  saw  his  lady-O." 

Before  she  could  reach  a  shelter  in  the  pines, 
while  she  was  poised  for  the  last  step  that  would 
take  her  out  of  the  trail,  he  was  out  from  behind 
the  rock,  before  her,  almost  upon  her,  reining  his 
horse  back  upon  its  haunches,  —  then  in  another 
instant  lifting  off  his  broad-brimmed  hat  to  her 
in  a  gracious  sweep.  It  was  the  first  time  she  had 
seen  this  simple  office  performed  outside  of  the 
theatre. 

She  looked  up  at  him,  embarrassed,  and  stepped 
back  across  the  narrow  trail,  her  head  down  again, 
so  that  he  was  free  to  pass.  But  instead  of  passing, 
she  became  aware  that  he  had  dismounted. 

When  she  looked  up,  he  was  busily  engaged  in 
adjusting  something  about  his  saddle,  with  an  ex 
pression  of  deepest  concern  in  his  blue  eyes.  His 
hat  was  on  the  ground  and  his  yellow  hair  glistened 
where  the  band  had  pressed  it  about  his  head. 

"  It's  that  latigo  strap,"  he  remarked,  in  a  tone 
of  some  annoyance.  "  I've  had  to  fix  it  every  five 
miles  since  I  left  Kanab !  "  Then  looking  up  at 
her  with  a  friendly  smile :  "  Dandy  most  stepped 
on  you,  I  reckon." 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         379 

The  amazement  of  it  was  that,  after  her  first 
flurry  at  the  sound  of  his  voice  and  his  half-seen 
movements  up  the  trail,  it  should  now  seem  all 
so  commonplace. 

"  Oh,  no,  I  was  well  out  of  his  way." 

She  started  again  to  cross  the  trail,  stepping 
quickly,  with  her  eyes  down,  but  again  his  voice 
came,  less  deliberate  this  time,  and  with  words  in 
something  less  than  intelligible  sequence. 

"  Excuse  me,  Miss  —  but  —  now  how  many 
miles  to  —  what's  the  name  of  the  nearest  settle 
ment  —  I  suppose  you  live  hereabouts  ?  " 

"What  did  you  say?" 

"  I  say  is  there  any  place  where  I  could  get  to 
stop  a  clay  or  so  in  Amalon  ?  " 

"Oh  —  I  didn't  understand  —  I  think  so ;  at 
least,  my  father  sometimes  —  but  there's  Elder 
Wardle,  he  often  takes  in  travellers." 

"  You  say  your  father  - 

"  Not  always  —  I  don't  know,  I'm  sure  —  "  she 
looked  doubtful. 

"Oh,  all  right!  I'll  ask  him,  —  if  you'll  show 
me  his  place." 

"  It's  the  first  place  on  the  left  after  you  leave 
the  canon  —  with  the  big  peach  orchard  —  I'm  not 
going  home  just  yet." 

He  stroked  the  muzzle  of  the  horse. 

"  Oh,  I'm  in  no  hurry,  I'm  just  looking  over  the 
country  a  little.  Your  father's  name  is  - 

"  Ask  for  Elder  Rae  —  or  one  of  his  wives  will 
say  if  they  can  keep  you  over  night." 


380         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

She  caught  something  new  in  his  glance,  and 
felt  the  blood  in  her  face. 

"  I  must  go  now  —  you  can  find  your  way  —  I 
must  go." 

"  Well,  if  you  must  go,"  —  he  picked  up  his  hat, 
—  "  but  I'll  see  you  again.  You'll  be  coming  home 
this  evening,  I  reckon  ?  " 

"  The  first  house  on  the  left,"  she  answered,  and 
stepped  once  more  across  the  trail  and  into  the  edge 
of  the  pines.  She  went  with  the  same  mien  of  im 
portance  that  Tom  Potwin  wore  on  his  endless 
errands;  and  with  quite  as  little  reason,  too;  for 
the  direction  in  which  she  had  started  so  earnestly 
would  have  led  her,  after  a  few  steps,  straight  up 
a  granite  cliff  a  thousand  feet  high.  As  she  en 
tered  the  pines  she  heard  him  mount  his  horse  and 
ride  down  the  trail,  and  then  the  rest  of  his  song 
came  back  to  her :  — 

11  Will  you  forsake  your  houses  and  lands, 

Will  you  forsake  your  baby-O  ? 
Will  you  forsake  your  own  wedded  lord 
To  f oiler  a  Gypsy  Davy-O  ? 

11  Yes,  I'll  forsake  my  houses  and  lands, 

Yes,  I'll  forsake  my  baby-O, 
For  I  am  bewitched,  and  I  know  the  reason  why; 
It's  a  follering  a  Gypsy  Davy-O. 

«*  Last  night  I  lay  on  a  velvet  couch 

Beside  my  lord  and  baby-O  ; 
To-night  I  shall  lie  on  the  cold,  cold  ground, 
In  the  arms  of  a  Gypsy  Davy-O. 

'« To-night  I  shall  lie  on  the  cold,  cold  ground, 
In  the  arms  of  a  Gypsy  Davy-O  1 " 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         381 

When  his  voice  died  away  and  she  knew  he 
must  be  gone,  she  came  out  again  to  her  nook 
beside  the  stream  where,  a  moment  before,  her 
dream  had  filled  her.  But  now,  though  nothing  had 
happened  beyond  the  riding  by  of  a  strange  youth, 
the  dream  no  longer  sufficed.  In  place  of  the  moon 
lit  balcony  was  the  figure  of  this  young  stranger 
swaying  with  his  horse  down  between  the  hol 
lowed  shoulders  of  the  Pine  Mountains  and  rein 
ing  up  suddenly  to  sweep  his  broad  hat  low  in 
front  of  her.  She  was  surprised  by  the  clearness 
with  which  she  could  recall  the  details  of  his  ap 
pearance,  —  a  boyish-looking  fellow,  with  wide- 
open  blue  eyes  and  a  sunbrowned  face  under  his 
yellow  hair,  the  smallest  of  moustaches,  and  a  smile 
of  such  winning  good-humour  that  it  had  seemed  to 
force  her  own  lips  apart  in  answer. 

Around  the  broad,  gray  hat  had  been  a  band  of 
braided  silver;  when  he  stepped,  the  spurs  on  his 
high-heeled  boots  had  jingled  and  clanked  of 
silver;  around  his  neck,  with  a  knot  at  the  back 
and  the  corners  flapping  down  on  the  front  of  his 
blue  woollen  shirt,  had  been  a  white-dotted  hand 
kerchief  of  scarlet  silk;  and  about  his  waist  was 
knotted  a  long  scarf  of  the  same  colour;  dogskin 
"  chapps "  he  had  worn,  fronted  with  the  thick 
yellowish  hair  outside;  his  saddle-bags,  back  of  the 
saddle,  showing  the  same  fur;  his  saddle  had  been 
of  stamped  Spanish  leather  with  a  silver  capping 
on  the  horn  and  on  the  circle  of  the  cantle ;  and  on 


382         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

the  right  of  the  saddle  she  had  seen  the  coils  of  a 
lariat  of  plaited  horsehair. 

The  picture  of  him  stayed  in  her  mind,  the 
sturdy  young  figure,  —  rather  loose- jointed  but 
with  an  easy  grace  of  movement,  —  and  the  engag 
ing  naturalness  of  his  manner.  But  after  all  noth 
ing  had  happened  save  the  passing  of  a  stranger, 
and  she  must  go  alone  back  to  her  dream.  Yet  now 
the  dream  might  change;  a  strange  youth  might 
come  riding  out  of  the  east,  sitting  a  sorrel  horse 
with  a  star  and  a  white  hind  ankle,  a  long  rangy 
neck  and  strong  quarters ;  and  he  —  the  youth  — 
would  wear  a  broad,  gray  hat,  with  a  band  of  silver 
filigree,  a  scarlet  kerchief  at  his  throat,  a  scarlet 
sash  at  his  waist,  and  yellow  dogskin  "  chapps." 

Still,  she  thought,  he  could  hardly  have  a  place  in 
the  dream.  The  real  youth  of  the  dream  had  been 
of  an  unearthly  beauty,  with  a  rose-leaf  complexion 
and  lustrous  curls  massed  above  a  brow  of  marble. 
The  stranger  had  not  been  of  an  unearthly  beauty. 
To  be  sure,  he  was  very  good  to  look  at,  with  his 
wide-open  blue  eyes  and  his  yellow  hair,  and  he 
had  appeared  uncommonly  fresh  and  clean  about 
the  mouth  when  he  smiled  at  her.  But  she  could  not 
picture  him  sighing  the  right  words  of  love  under  a 
balcony  in  the  moonlight.  He  had  looked  to  be  too 
intensely  business-like. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

The    Gentile    Invasion 

WHEN  she  came  across  the  fields  late  in  the 
afternoon,  the  strange  youth's  horse  was 
picketed  where  the  bunch-grass  grew  high, 
and  the  young  man  himself  talked  with  her  father 
by  the  corral  bars.  She  had  never  realised  how 
old  her  father  was,  how  weak,  and  small,  and  bent, 
until  she  saw  him  beside  this  erect  young  fellow. 
Her  heart  went  out  to  the  older  man  with  a  new 
sympathy  as  she  saw  his  feebleness  so  sharply  in 
relief  against  the  well-blooded,  hard-muscled  vig 
our  of  the  younger.  When  she  would  have  passed 
them,  her  father  called  to  her. 

"  Prudence,  this  is  Mr.  Ruel  Follett.  He  will 
stay  with  us  to-night." 

The  sombrero  was  off  again  and  she  felt  the 
blue  eyes  seeking  hers,  though  she  could  not  look 
up  from  the  ground  when  she  had  given  her  little 
bow.  She  heard  him  say : 

"  I  already  met  your  daughter,  sir,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  canon." 

She  went  on  toward  the  house,  hearing  them 
383 


384         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

resume  their  talk,  the  stranger  saying,  "  That  horse 
can  sure  carry  all  the  weight  you  want  to  put  on 
him  and  step  away  good;  he'll  do  it  right  at  both 
ends,  too  —  Dandy  will  —  and  he's  got  a  mighty 
tasty  lope." 

Later  she  brought  him  a  towel  when  he  had 
washed  himself  in  the  tin  basin  on  the  bench  out 
side  the  house.  He  had  doffed  the  "  chapps  "  and 
hung  them  on  a  peg,  the  scarlet  kerchief  was  also 
off,  his  shirt  was  open  at  the  neck,  and  soap 
and  water  had  played  freely  over  his  head.  He  took 
the  towel  from  her  with  a  sputtering,  "  Thank  you," 
and  with  a  pair  of  muscular,  brown  hands  proceeded 
to  scour  himself  dry  until  the  yellow  hair  stood 
about  him  as  a  halo  —  without,  however,  in  the 
least  suggesting  the  angelic  or  even  saintly:  for 
his  face,  from  the  friction  inflamed  to  a  high  degree, 
was  now  a  mass  of  red  with  two  inquiring  spots 
of  blue  near  the  upper  edge.  But  then  the  clean 
mouth  opened  in  its  frank  smile,  and  her  own 
dark  lashes  had  to  fall  upon  her  cheeks  until  she 
turned  away. 

At  supper  and  afterwards  Mr.  Follett  talked 
freely  of  himself,  or  seemed  to.  He  was  from  the 
high  plains  and  the  short-grass  country,  wherever 
that  might  be  —  to  the  east  and  south  she  gath 
ered.  He  had  grown  up  in  that  country,  working 
for  his  father,  who  had  been  an  overland  freighter, 
until  the  day  the  railroad  tracks  were  joined  at 
Promontory.  He,  himself,  had  watched  the  gold 
and  silver  spikes  driven  into  the  tie  of  California 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         385 

mahogany  two  years  before ;  and  then,  though  they 
still  kept  a  few  wagon-trains  moving  to  the  min 
ing-camps  north  and  south  of  the  railroad,  they 
had  looked  for  other  occupations. 

Now  their  attention  was  chiefly  devoted  to  mines 
and  cattle.  There  were  great  times  ahead  in  the 
latter  business.  His  father  remembered  when  they 
had  killed  cattle  for  their  hides  and  tallow,  leaving 
the  meat  to  the  coyotes ;  but  now,  each  spring,  a 
dozen  men  like  himself,  under  a  herd  boss,  would 
drive  five  thousand  head  to  Leavenworth,  putting 
them  through  ten  or  twelve  miles  a  day  over  the 
Abiline  trail,  keeping  them  fat  and  getting  good 
prices  for  them.  There  was  plenty  of  room  for 
the  business.  "  Over  yonder  across  the  hills,"  as 
Mr.  Follett  put  it,  there  was  a  herding  ground 
four  hundred  miles  wide  east  and  west,  and  a 
thousand  miles  north  and  south,  covered  with 
buffalo  grass,  especially  toward  the  north,  that  made 
good  stock  feed  the  year  around.  He,  himself,  had, 
in  winter,  followed  a  herd  that  drifted  from  Mon 
tana  to  Texas ;  and  in  summer  he  had  twice  ranged 
from  Corpus  Christi  to  Deadwood. 

Down  in  the  Panhandle  they  were  getting  control 
of  a  ranch  that  would  cover  five  thousand  square 
miles,  and  some  day  they  would  have  every  one  of 
its  three  million  acres  enclosed  with  a  stout  wire 
fence.  It  would  be  a  big  ranch,  bigger  than  the 
whole  State  of  Connecticut  —  bigger  than  Dela 
ware  and  Rhode  Island  "  lumped  together,"  he 
had  been  told.  Here  they  would  have  the 


386         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

f<  C  lazy  C "  brand  on  probably  a  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  head  of  cattle.  He  thought  the 
business  would  settle  down  to  this  conservative  basis 
with  the  loose  ends  of  it  pulled  together;  with 
closer  attention  paid  to  branding,  for  one  thing; 
branding  the  calves,  so  they  would  no  longer  have 
to  rope  a  full-grown  steer,  and  tie  it  with  a  scarf 
such  as  he  wore  about  his  waist. 

But  they  were  also  working  some  placer  claims 
up  around  Helena,  and  developing  a  quartz  prospect 
over  at  Carson  City.  And  the  freighting  was  by 
no  means  "  played  out."  He,  himself,  had  driven 
a  six-mule  team  with  one  line  over  the  Santa  Fe 
trail,  and  might  have  to  do  it  again.  The  resources 
of  the  West  were  not  exhausted,  whatever  they 
might  say.  A  man  with  a  head  on  him  would  be 
able  to  make  a  good  living  there  for  some  years  to 
come. 

Both  father  and  daughter  found  him  an  agreeable 
young  man  in  spite  of  his  being  an  alien  from 
the  Commonwealth  of  Israel.  He  remained  with 
them  three  days  looking  over  the  country  about 
Amalon,  talking  with  its  people  and  making  him 
self  at  least  not  an  object  of  suspicion  and  aver 
sion,  as  the  casual  Gentile  was  apt  to  be.  Prudence 
found  herself  usually  at  ease  with  him ;  he  was 
so  wholly  likable  and  unassuming.  Yet  at  times 
he  seemed  strangely  mature  and  reserved  to  her, 
so  that  she  was  just  a  little  awed. 

He  told  her  in  their  evenings  many  wonder-tales 
of  that  outside  world  where  the  wicked  Gentiles 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         387 

lived;  of  populous  cities  on  the  western  edge  of  it, 
and  of  vast  throngs  that  crowded  the  interior  clear 
over  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  She  had  never  realised 
before  what  a  small  handful  of  people  the  Lord 
had  set  His  hand  to  save,  and  what  vast  numbers 
He  had  made  with  hearts  that  should  be  hardened 
to  the  glorious  articles  of  the  new  covenant. 

The  wastefulness  of  it  rather  appalled  her.  Out 
of  the  world  with  its  myriad  millions,  only  the  few 
thousand  in  this  valley  of  the  mountains  had  proved 
worthy  of  exaltation.  And  this  young  man  was 
doubtless  a  fair  sample  of  them,  —  happy,  unthink 
ing,  earning  perdition  by  mere  carelessness.  If 
only  there  were  a  way  to  save  them  —  if  only  there 
were  a  way  to  save  even  this  one  —  but  she  hardly 
dared  speak  to  him  of  her  religion. 

When  he  left  he  told  them  he  was  making  a 
little  trip  through  the  settlements  to  the  north,  pos 
sibly  as  far  as  Cedar  City.  He  did  not  know  how 
long  he  would  be  gone,  but  if  nothing  prevented 
he  might  be  back  that  way.  He  shook  hands  with 
them  both  at  parting,  and  though  he  spoke  so 
vaguely  about  a  return,  his  eyes  seemed  to  tell 
Prudence  that  he  would  like  very  much  to  come. 
He  had  talked  freely  about  everything  but  the  pre 
cise  nature  of  his  errand  in  the  valley. 

In  her  walks  to  the  canon  she  thought  much  of 
him  when  he  had  gone.  She  could  not  put  his 
face  into  the  dream  because  he  was  too  real  and 
immanent.  He  and  the  dream  would  not  blend, 
even  though  she  had  decided  that  his  fresh-cheeked, 


388         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

clear-eyed  face,  with  its  clean  smile  and  the  yellow 
hair  above  it  was  almost  better  to  look  at  than  the 
face  of  the  youth  in  the  play.  It  was  not  so  im 
palpable;  it  satisfied.  So  she  mused  about  them 
alternately,  the  dream  and  the  Gentile,  —  taking 
perhaps  a  warmer  interest  in  the  latter  for  his 
aliveness,  for  the  grasp  of  his  hand  at  parting,  which 
she,  with  astonishment,  had  felt  her  own  hand  cor 
dially  returning. 

Her  father  talked  much  of  the  young  man.  In 
his  prophetic  eye  this  fearless,  vigorous  young 
stranger  was  the  incarnate  spirit  of  that  Gentile 
invasion  to  which  the  Lord  had  condemned  them 
for  their  sins.  He  had  come,  resourceful,  deter 
mined,  talking  of  mighty  enterprises,  of  cattle,  and 
gold,  and  wheat,  of  wagon-trains,  and  railroad,  — 
an  eloquent  forerunner  of  the  Gentile  hordes  that 
should  come  west  upon  the  shoulders  of  Israel,  and 
surround,  assimilate,  and  reduce  them,  until  they 
should  lose  all  their  powers  and  gifts  and  become 
a  mere  sect  among  sects,  their  name,  perhaps,  a 
hissing  and  a  scorn.  He  foresaw  the  invasion  of 
which  this  self-poised,  vital  youth  of  three  or  four 
and  twenty  was  a  sapper;  and  he  knew  it  was  a 
just  punishment  from  on  high  for  the  innocent  blood 
they  had  shed.  Yet  now  he  viewed  it  rather  im 
personally,  for  he  felt  curiously  disconnected  from 
the  affairs  of  the  Church  and  the  world. 

He  no  longer  preached  on  the  Sabbath,  giving 
his  ill-health  as  an  excuse.  In  truth  he  felt 
it  would  not  be  honest  since,  in  his  secret  heart,  he 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         389 

was  now  an  apostate.  But  with  his  works  of  healing 
he  busied  himself  more  than  ever,  and  in  this  he 
seemed  to  have  gained  new  power.  Weak  as  he 
was  physically,  gray-haired,  bloodless,  fragile,  with 
what  seemed  to  be  all  of  his  remaining  life  burning 
in  his  deep-set  eyes,  he  yet  laid  his  hands  upon  the 
sick  with  a  success  so  marked  that  his  fame  spread 
and  he  was  sent  for  to  rebuke  plagues  and  fevers 
from  as  far  away  as  Beaver. 

For  two  weeks  they  heard  nothing  of  the  wan 
dering  Gentile,  and  Prudence  had  begun  to  wonder 
if  she  would  ever  see  him  again ;  also  to  wonder  why 
an  uncertainty  in  the  matter  should  seem  to  be  of 
importance. 

But  one  evening  early  in  June  they  saw  him  walk 
ing  up  in  the  dusk,  the  light  sombrero,  the  scarlet 
kerchief  against  the  blue  woollen  shirt,  the  holster 
with  its  heavy  Colt's  revolver  at  either  hip,  the  easy 
moving  figure,  and  the  strong,  yet  boyish  face. 

He  greeted  them  pleasantly,  though,  the  girl 
thought,  with  some  restraint.  She  could  not  hear 
it  in  his  words,  but  she  felt  it  in  his  manner,  some 
thing  suppressed  and  deeply  hidden.  They  asked 
where  his  horse  was  and  he  replied  with  a  curious 
air  of  embarrassment :  — 

"  Well,  you  see,  I  may  be  obliged  to  stop  around 
here  a  quite  some  while,  so  I  put  up  with  this  man 
Wardle  —  not  wanting  to  impose  upon  you  all  — 
and  thanking  you  very  kindly,  and  not  wishing  to 
intrude  —  so  I  just  came  to  say  '  howdy  '  to  you." 

They  expressed  regret  that  he  had  not  returned 


390         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

to  them,  Joel  Rae  urging  him  to  reconsider;  but 
he  declined  politely,  showing  a  desire  to  talk  of 
other  things. 

They  sat  outside  in  the  warm  early  evening,  the 
young  man  and  Prudence  near  each  other  at  one 
side  of  the  door,  while  Joel  Rae  resumed  his  chair 
a  dozen  feet  the  other  side  and  lapsed  into  silence. 
The  two  young  people  fell  easily  into  talk  as  on 
the  other  evenings  they  had  spent  there.  Yet  pres 
ently  she  was  again  aware,  as  in  the  moment  of 
his  greeting,  that  he  laboured  under  some  constraint. 
He  was  uneasy  and  shifted  his  chair  several  times 
until  at  length  it  was  so  placed  that  he  could  look 
beyond  her  to  where  her  father  had  tilted  his  own 
chair  against  the  house  and  sat  huddled  with  his  chin 
on  his  breast.  H'e  talked  absently,  too,  at  first,  of 
many  things  and  without  sequence;  and  when  he 
looked  at  her,  there  was  something  back  of  his  eyes, 
plain  even  in  the  dusk,  that  she  had  not  seen  there 
before.  He  was  no  longer  the  ingenuous  youth  who 
had  come  to  them  from  off  the  Kanab  trail. 

In  a  little  while,  however,  this  uneasiness  seemed 
to  vanish  and  he  was  speaking  naturally  again, 
telling  of  his  life  on  the  plains  with  a  boyish  en 
thusiasm  ;  first  of  the  cattle  drives,  of  the  stampede 
of  a  herd  by  night,  when  the  Indians  would  ride 
rapidly  by  in  the  dark,  dragging  a  buffalo-robe  over 
the  ground  at  the  end  of  a  lariat,  sending  the  fright 
ened  steers  off  in  a  mad  gallop  that  made  the  earth 
tremble.  They  would  have  to  ride  out  at  full  speed 
in  the  black  night,  over  ground  treacherous  with 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         391 

prairie-dog  holes,  to  head  and  turn  the  herd  of 
frenzied  cattle,  and  by  riding  around  and  around 
them  many  times  get  them  at  last  into  a  circle  and 
so  hold  them  until  they  became  quiet  again.  Often 
this  was  not  until  sunrise,  even  with  the  lullabys 
they  sang  "  to  put  them  to  sleep." 

Then  he  spoke  of  adventures  with  the  Indians 
while  freighting  over  the  Santa  Fe  trail,  and  of 
what  a  fine  man  his  father,  Ezra  Calkins,  was.  It 
was  the  first  time  he  had  mentioned  the  name  and 
her  ear  caught  it  at  once. 

"Your  father's  name  is  Calkins?" 

"  Yes  —  I'm  only  an  adopted  son." 

Unconsciously  she  had  been  letting  her  voice  fall 
low,  making  their  chat  more  confidential.  She 
awoke  to  this  now  and  to  the  fact  that  he  had  done 
the  same,  by  noting  that  he  raised  his  voice  at  this 
time  with  a  casual  glance  past  her  to  where  her 
father  sat. 

"  Yes  —  you  see  my  own  father  and  mother  were 
killed  when  I  was  eight  years  old,  and  the  people 
that  murdered  them  tried  to  kill  me  too,  but  I  was 
a  spry  little  tike  and  give  them  the  slip.  It  was  a 
bad  country,  and  I  like  to  have  died,  only  there  was 
a  band  of  Navajos  out  trading  ponies,  and  one 
morning,  after  I'd  been  alone  all  night,  they  picked 
me  up  and  took  care  of  me.  I  was  pretty  near  gone, 
what  with  being  scared  and  everything,  but  they 
nursed  me  careful.  They  took  me  away  off  to  the 
south  and  kept  me  about  a  year,  and  then  one  time 
they  took  me  with  them  when  they  worked  up 


392         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

north  on  a  buffalo  hunt.  It  was  at  Walnut  Creek 
on  the  big  bend  of  the  Arkansas  that  they  met  Ezra 
Calkins  coming  along  with  one  of  his  trains  and 
he  bought  me  of  those  Navajos.  I  remember  he 
gave  fifty  silver  dollars  for  me  to  the  chief.  Well, 
when  I  told  him  all  that  I  could  remember  about 
myself  —  of  course  the  people  that  did  the  killing 
scared  a  good  deal  of  it  out  of  me  —  he  took  me  to 
Kansas  City  where  he  lived,  and  went  to  law  and 
made  me  his  son,  because  he'd  lost  a  boy  about  my 
age.  And  so  that's  how  we  have  different  names, 
he  telling  me  I'd  ought  to  keep  mine  instead  of 
taking  his." 

She  was  excited  by  the  tale,  which  he  had  told 
almost  in  one  breath,  and  now  she  was  eager  to 
question,  looking  over  to  see  if  her  father  would 
not  also  be  interested;  but  the  latter  gave  no  sign. 

"  You  poor  little  boy,  among  those  wretched  In 
dians!  But  why  were  your  father  and  mother 
killed?  Did  the  Indians  do  it?  " 

"  No,  not  Indians  that  did  it  —  and  I  never 
did  know  why  they  killed  them  —  they  that  did 
do  it." 

"  But  how  queer !    Don't  you  know  who  it  was  ?  " 

Before  answering,  he  paused  to  take  one  of  the 
long  revolvers  from  its  holster,  laying  it  across  his 
lap,  his  right  hand  still  grasping  it. 

"  It  was  tiring  my  leg  where  it  was,"  he  ex 
plained.  "  I'll  just  rest  myself  by  holding  it  here. 
I've  practised  a  good  smart  bit  with  these  pistols 
against  the  time  when  I'd  meet  some  of  them  that 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         393 

did  it  —  that  killed  my  father  and  mother  and  lots 
of  others,  and  little  children,  too." 

"  How  terrible !    And  it  wasn't  Indians  ?  " 

"  No  —  I  told  you  that  already  —  it  wasn't  In 
dians." 

"  Don't  you  know  who  it  was  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  know  all  of  them  I  want  to  know. 
The  fact  is,  up  there  at  Cedar  City  I  met  some 
people  that  got  confidential  with  me  one  day,  and 
told  me  a  lot  of  their  names.  There  was  Mr.  Bar 
ney  Carter  and  Mr.  Sam  Woods,  and  they  talked 
right  freely  about  some  folks.  I  found  out  what  I 
was  wanting  to  know,  being  that  they  were  drinking 
men." 

He  had  moved  slightly  as  he  spoke  and  she  glanced 
at  the  revolver  still  held  along  his  knee. 

"  Isn't  that  dangerous  —  seems  to  me  it's  pointed 
almo'l  toward  father." 

"  Oh,  not  a  bit  dangerous,  and  it  rests  me  to 
hold  it  there.  You  see  it  was  hereabouts  this  thing 
happened.  In  fact,  I  came  down  here  looking  for 
a  big  man,  and  a  little  girl  that  I  remembered, 
whose  father  and  mother  were  killed  at  the  same 
time  mine  was.  This  little  girl  was  about  three 
or  four,  I  reckon,  and  she  was  taken  by  one  of  the 
murderers.  He  seemed  like  an  awful  big  man  to 
me.  By  the  way,  that's  mean  whiskey  your  Bishop 
sells  on  the  sly  up  at  Cedar  City.  Why,  it's  worse 
than  Taos  lightning.  Well,  this  Barney  Carter  and 
Mr.  Sam  Woods,  they  would  drink  it  all  right,  but 
they  said  one  drink  made  a  man  ugly  and  two  made 


394         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

him  so  downright  bad  that  he'd  just  as  lief  tear 
his  wife's  best  bonnet  to  pieces  as  not.  But  they 
seemed  to  like  me  pretty  well,  and  they  drank  a  lot 
of  this  whiskey  that  the  Bishop  sold  me,  and  then 
they  got  talking  pretty  freely  about  old  times.  I 
gathered  that  this  man  that  took  the  little  girl  is  a 
pretty  big  man  around  here.  Of  course  I  wasn't 
expecting  anything  like  that;  I  thought  naturally 
he'd  be  a  low-down  sort  to  have  been  mixed  up 
in  a  thing  like  that." 

He  spoke  his  next  words  very  slowly,  with  little 
pauses. 

"  But  I  found  out  what  his  name  was  —  it 
was  —  " 

He  stopped,  for  there  had  been  an  indistinct 
sound  from  where  her  father  sat,  now  in  the  gloom 
of  the  evening.  She  called  to  him : 

"  Did  you  speak,  father?  " 

There  was  no  reply  or  movement  from  the  figure 
in  the  chair,  and  Follett  resumed : 

"  I  guess  he  was  just  asleep  and  dreaming  about 
something.  Well,  anyway  —  I  —  I  found  out  after 
wards  by  telling  it  before  him,  that  Mr.  Barney 
Carter  and  his  drunken  friend  had  given  me  his 
name  right,  though  I  could  hardly  believe  it 
before." 

"What  an  awful,  awful  thing!  What  wicked 
ness  there  is  in  the  world !  " 

"  Oh,  a  tolerable  lot,"  he  assented. 

He  had  been  all  animation  and  eagerness  in  the 
telling  of  the  story,  but  had  now  become  curiously 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         395 

silent  and  listless;  so  that,  although  she  was  eager 
with  many  questions  about  what  he  had  said,  she  did 
not  ask  them,  waiting  to  see  if  he  would  not  talk 
again.  But  instead  of  talking,  he  stayed  silent  and 
presently  began  to  fidget  in  his  chair.  At  last  he 
said,  "  If  you'll  excuse  us,  Miss  Prudence,  your 
pa  and  I  have  got  a  little  business  matter  to  talk 
over  —  to-night.  I  guess  we  can  go  down  here  by 
the  corral  and  do  it." 

But  she  arose  quickly  and  bade  him  good 
night.  "  I  hope  I  shall  see  you  to-morrow,"  she 
said. 

She  bent  over  to  kiss  her  father  as  she  went  in, 
and  when  she  had  done  so,  warned  him  that  he  must 
not  sit  in  the  night  air. 

"  Why  your  face  is  actually  wet  with  a  cold  sweat. 
You  ought  to  come  in  at  once." 

"  After  a  very  little,  dear.  Go  to  bed  now  — 
and  always  be  a  good  giri !  " 

"  And  you've  grown  so  hoarse  sitting  here." 

"  In  a  little  while,  —  always  be  a  good  girl !  " 

She  went  in  with  a  parting  admonition :  "  Re 
member  your  cough  —  good  night!  " 

When  she  had  gone  neither  man  stirred  for  the 
space  of  a  minute.  The  little  man,  huddled  in  his 
seat,  had  not  changed  his  position ;  he  still  sat  with 
his  chair  tilted  back  against  the  house,  his  chin  on 
his  breast. 

The  other  had  remained  standing  where  the  girl 
left  him,  the  revolver  in  his  hand.  After  the  min- 


396         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

ute  of  silence  he  crossed  over  and  stood  in  front  of 
the  seated  man. 

"  Come,"   he  said,  gruffly,    "  where  do  you  want 
to  go?" 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

How  the  Avenger  Bungled  His  Vengeance 

AT  last  he  stood  up,  slowly,  unsteadily,  grasping 
Follett  by  the  arm  for  support.  He  spoke 
almost  in  a  whisper. 

"Come  back  here  first —  to  talk  — then  I'll  go 
with  you." 

He  entered  the  house,  the  young  man  following 
close,  suspicious,  narrowly  watchful. 

"  No  fooling  now,  —  feel  the  end  of  that  gun  in 
your  back?  "  The  other  made  no  reply.  Inside  the 
door  he  took  a  candle  from  the  box  against  the 
wall  and  lighted  it. 

"  Don't  think  I'm  trying  anything  —  come  here." 

They  went  on,  the  little  bent  man  ahead,  holding 
the  candle  well  up.  His  room  was  at  the  far  end 
of  the  long  house.  When  they  reached  it,  he  closed 
the  door  and  fixed  the  candle  on  the  table  in  some 
of  its  own  grease.  Then  he  pointed  Follett  to  the 
one  stool  in  the  little  cell-like  room,  and  threw  him 
self  face  down  on  the  bed. 

Follett,  still  standing,  waited  for  him  to  speak. 
After  a  moment's  silence  he  grew  impatient. 

397 


398         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  Come,  come !  What  would  you  be  saying  if 
you  were  talking?  I  can't  wait  here  all  night." 

But  the  little  man  on  the  bed  was  still  silent,  nor 
did  he  stir,  and  after  another  wait  Follett  broke  out 
again. 

"  If  you  want  to  talk,  talk,  I  tell  you.  If  you  don't 
want  to,  I  can  say  all  I  have  to  say,  quick." 

Then  the  other  turned  himself  over  on  the  bed 
and  half  sat  up,  leaning  on  his  elbow. 

"  I'm  sorry  to  keep  you  waiting,  but  you  see  I'm 
so  weak  "  —  the  strained  little  smile  came  to  his 
face  —  "  and  tremble  so,  there's  so  much  to  think 
of  —  do  you  hear  those  women  scream  —  there! 
did  you  hear  that  ?  —  but  of  course  not.  Now  — 
wait  just  a  moment  —  have  you  come  to  kill  me?  " 
*  You  and  those  two  other  hellions  —  the  two 
that  took  me  and  that  boy  out  that  night  to  bury  us." 

"  Did  you  think  of  the  consequences?  " 

"  I  reckoned  you'd  be  called  paid  for,  any  time 
any  one  come  gunning  for  you.  I  didn't  think 
there'd  be  any  consequences." 

"  Hereafter,  I  mean ;  to  your  soul.  What  a  pity 
you  didn't  wait  a  little  longer !  Those  other  two  are 
already  punished." 

"Don't  lie  to  me  now?" 

The  little  smile  lighted  his  face  again. 

"  I  have  a  load  of  sin  on  me  —  but  I  don't  think 
I  ever  did  lie  to  any  one  —  I  guess  I  never  was 
tempted  —  " 

"  Oh,  you've  acted  lies  enough." 

"  You're  right  —  that's  so.     But  I'm  telling  you 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         399 

truth  now  —  those  two  men  had  both  been  in  the 
Meadows  that  day  and  it  killed  them.  One  went 
crazy  and  ran  off  into  the  desert.  They  found  his 
bones.  The  other  shot  himself  a  few  years  ago. 
Those  of  us  that  live  are  already  in  hell  —  " 

He  sat  up,  now,  animated  for  the  moment. 

"  —  in  hell  right  here,  I  tell  you.  I'd  have  wel 
comed  you,  or  any  other  man  that  would  kill  me, 
any  time  this  fifteen  years.  I'd  have  gone  out  to 
meet  you.  Do  you  think  I  like  to  hear  the  women 
scream?  Do  you  think  I'm  not  crazed  myself  by 
this  thing  —  right  back  of  me  here,  now  —  crawl 
ing,  bleeding,  breathing  on  me  —  trying  to  come 
here  in  front  where  I  must  see  it?  Don't  you  see 
God  has  known  how  to  punish  me  worse  than  you 
could,  just  by  keeping  me  alive  and  sane?  Oh, 
man !  you  don't  know  how  I've  longed  for  that 
bullet  of  yours,  right  here  through  the  temples  where 
the  cries  sound  worst.  I  didn't  dare  to  do  it  myself 
—  I  was  afraid  I'd  make  my  punishment  worse 
if  I  tried  to  shirk;  but  I  used  to  hope  you  would 
come  as  you  said  you  would.  I  wonder  I  didn't 
know  you  at  once." 

He  put  his  hands  to  his  head  and  fell  back  again 
on  the  pillow,  with  a  little  moan. 

"  Well,  it  ain't  strange  I  didn't  know  you.  I  was 
looking  for  a  big  man.  You  seemed  as  big  as  a 
house  to  me  that  day.  I  forgot  that  I'd  grown  up 
and  you  might  be  small.  When  those  fellows  got 
tight  up  there  and  let  on  like  it  was  you  that  some 
folks  hinted  had  took  a  child  and  kept  it  out  of 


400         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

that  muss,  I  couldn't  hardly  believe  it;  and  every 
body  seeming  to  regard  you  so  highly.  And  I 
couldn't  believe  this  big  girl  was  little  Prue  Girnway 
that  I  remembered.  It  seemed  like  you  two  would 
have  to  be  a  great  big  man  and  a  little  bit  of  a  baby 
girl  with  yellow  hair ;  and  now  I  find  you're  — 
say,  Mister,  honestly,  you're  such  a  poor,  broke- 
down,  little  coot  it  seems  a'most  like  a  shame  to  put 
a  bullet  through  you,  in  spite  of  all  your  doings!  " 

The  little  man  sat  up  again,  with  new  animation 
in  his  eyes,  —  the  same  eager  boyishness  that  he 
had  somehow  kept  through  all  his  years. 

"Don't!"  he  exclaimed,  earnestly.  "Let  me 
beg  you,  don't  kill  me !  For  your  own  sake  —  not 
for  mine.  I'm  a  poor,  meatless  husk.  I'll  die  soon 
at  best,  and  I'm  already  in  a  hell  you  can't  make  any 
hotter.  Let  me  do  you  this  service ;  let  me  persuade 
you  not  to  kill  me.  Have  you  ever  killed  a  man?  " 

"  No,  not  yet ;  I've  allowed  to  a  couple  of  times, 
but  it's  never  come  just  that  way." 

"  You  ought  to  thank  God.  Don't  ever.  You'll 
be  in  hell  as  sure  as  you  do,  —  a  hell  right  here 
that  you  must  carry  inside  of  you  forever  —  that 
even  God  can't  take  out  of  you.  Listen  —  it's  a 
great  secret,  worth  millions.  If  you're  so  bad  you 
can't  forgive  yourself,  you  have  to  suffer  hell-fire 
no  matter  how  much  the  Lord  forgives  you.  It 
sounds  queer,  but  there's  the  limit  to  His  power. 
He's  made  us  so  nearly  in  His  image  that  we  have 
to  win  our  own  forgiveness ;  why,  you  can  see  your 
self,  it  had  to  be  that  way ;  there  would  have  been 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         401 

no  dignity  to  a  soul  that  could  swallow  all  its  own 
wickedness  so  long  as  the  Lord  could.  God  has 
given  us  to  know  good  and  evil  for  ourselves  —  and 
we  have  to  take  the  consequences.  Look  at  me. 
I  suffer  day  and  night,  and  always  must.  God 
has  forgiven  me,  but  I  can't  forgive  myself,  for 
my  own  sin  and  my  people's  sin,  —  for  my  preaching 
was  one  of  the  things  that  led  them  into  that 
meadow.  I  know  that  Christ  died  for  us,  but  that 
can't  put  out  this  fire  that  I  have  to  build  in  my 
own  soul.  I  tell  you  a  man  is  like  an  angel,  he 
can  be  good  or  bad ;  he  has  a  power  for  heaven 
but  the  same  power  for  hell  —  " 

"  See  here,  I  don't  know  anything  about  all  this 
hell-talk,  but  I  do  know  —  " 

"  I  tell  you  death  is  the  very  last  thing  I  have 
left  to  look  forward  to,  but  if  you  kill  me  it  will 
be  your  own  undoing.  You  will  never  get  me  out 
of  your  eyes  or  your  ears,  poor  wreck  as  I  am  — • 
so  feeble.  You  can  see  what  my  punishment  has 
been.  A  little  while  ago  I  was  young,  and  strong, 
and  proud  like  you,  fearing  nothing  and  wanting 
everything,  but  something  was  wrong.  I  was 
climbing  up  as  I  thought,  and  then  all  at  once  I  saw 
I  had  been  climbing  down  —  down  into  a  pit  I 
never  could  get  out  of.  You  will  be  there  if  you 
kill  me."  He  sank  back  on  the  bed  again. 

Follett  slowly  put  the  revolver  into  its  holster 
and  sat  down  on  the  low  stool. 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  all  this  hell- 
talk,  but  I  see  I  can't  kill  you  —  you're  such  a  poor, 


402         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

miserable  cuss.  And  I  thought  you  were  a  big 
strong  man,  handy  with  a  gun  and  all  that,  and 
like  as  not  I'd  have  to  make  a  quick  draw  on  you 
when  the  time  come.  And  now  look  at  you !  Why, 
Mister,  I'm  doggoned  if  I  ain't  almost  sorry  for 
you!  You  sure  have  been  getting  your  deservance 
good  and  plenty.  Say,  what  in  God's  name  did 
you  all  do  such  a  hellish  thing  for,  anyway  ?  " 

"  We  had  been  persecuted,  hunted,  and  driven, 
our  Prophet  murdered,  our  women  and  children 
butchered,  and  another  army  was  on  the  way." 

'''  Well,  that  was  because  you  were  such  an  ornery 
lot,  always  setting  yourself  up  against  the  govern 
ment  wherever  you  went,  and  acting  scandalous  —  " 

"  We  did  as  the  Lord  directed  us  —  " 

"Oh,  shucks!" 

"  And  then  we  thought  the  time  had  come  to 
stand  up  for  our  rights;  that  the  Lord  meant  us 
to  be  free  and  independent." 

"Secesh,  eh?"  Follett  was  amused.  "You 
handful  of  Mormons  —  Uncle  Sam  could  have 
licked  you  with  both  hands  tied  behind  him.  Why, 
you  crazy  fool,  he'd  have  spit  on  you  and  drowned 
every  last  one  of  you,  old  Brigham  Young  and  all. 
Fighting  the  United  States !  A  few  dozen  women- 
butchers  going  to  do  what  the  whole  South  couldn't ! 
Well,  I  am  dangecl." 

He  mused  over  it,  and  for  awhile  neither  spoke. 

"  And  the  nearest  you  ever  got  to  it  was  cutting 
up  a  lot  of  women  and  children  after  you'd  cheated 
the  men  into  giving  up  their  guns !  " 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         403 

The  other  groaned. 

"  There  now,  that's  right  —  don't  you  see  that 
hurts  worse  than  killing?  " 

"  But  I  certainly  wish  I  could  have  got  those 
other  two  that  took  us  off  into  the  sage-brush  that 
night.  I  didn't  guess  what  for,  but  the  first  thing 
I  knew  the  other  boy  was  scratching,  and  kicking, 
and  hollering,  and  like  to  have  wriggled  away,  so 
the  cuss  that  was  with  me  ran  up  to  help.  Then 
I  heard  little  John  making  kind  of  a  squeally  noise 
in  his  throat  like  he  was  being  choked,  and  that 
was  all  I  wanted.  I  legged  it  into  the  sage-brush. 
I  heard  them  swearing  and  coming  after  me,  and 
ran  harder,  and,  what  saved  me,  I  tripped  and  fell 
down  and  hurt  myself,  so  I  lay  still  and  they  lost 
track  of  me.  I  was  scared,  I  promise  you  that ;  but 
after  they  got  off  a  ways  I  worked  in  the  other  direc 
tion  by  spells  till  I  got  to  a  little  wady,  and  by  sunup 
they  weren't  in  sight  any  longer.  When  I  saw  the 
Indians  coming  along  I  wasn't  a  bit  scared.  I 
knew  they  weren't  Mormons." 

"  I  used  to  pray  that  you  might  come  back  and 
kill  me." 

"  I  used  to  wish  I  would  grow  faster  so  I  could.  I 
was  always  laying  out  to  do  it." 

"  But  see  how  I've  been  punished.  Look  at  me  — 
I'm  fifty.  I  ought  to  be  in  my  prime.  See  how  I've 
been  burnt  out." 

"  But  look  here,  Mister,  what  about  this  girl  ?  Do 
you  think  you've  been  doing  right  by  keeping  her 
here?" 


404         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  No,  no!   it  was  a  wrong  as  great  as  the  other." 

"  Why,  they're  even  passing  remarks  about  her 
mother,  those  that  don't  know  where  you  got  her, 
—  saying  it  was  some  one  you  never  married,  be 
cause  the  book  shows  your  first  wife  was  this  one- 
handed  woman  here." 

"  I  know,  I  know  it.  I  meant  to  let  her  go  back 
at  first,  but  she  took  hold  of  me,  and  her  father  and 
mother  were  both  dead." 

"  She's  got  a  grandfather  and  grandmother,  alive 
and  hearty,  back  at  Springfield." 

"  She  is  all  that  has  kept  me  alive  these  last  years." 

"  She's  got  to  go  back  to  her  people  now.  She'll 
want  to  bad  enough  when  she  knows  about  this." 

"  About  this  ?     Surely  you  won't  tell  her  —  " 

"  Look  here  now,  why  not  ?  What  do  you  ex 
pect?" 

"  But  she  loves  me  —  she  does  —  and  she's  all  I've 
got.  Man,  man !  don't  pile  it  all  on  me  just  at 
the  last." 

He  was  off  the  bed  and  on  his  knees  before  Fol- 
lett. 

"  Don't  put  it  all  on  me.  I've  rounded  up  my  back 
to  the  rest  of  it,  but  keep  this  off;  please,  please 
don't.  Let  her  always  think  I'm  not  bad.  Give  me 
that  one  thing  out  of  all  the  world." 

He  tried  to  reach  the  young  man's  hand,  but  was 
pushed  roughly  away. 

"  Don't  do  that  —  get  up  —  stop,  I  tell  you.  That 
ain't  any  way  to  do.  There  now !  Lie  down  again. 
What  do  you  want?  I'm  not  going  to  leave  that 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         405 

girl  with  you  nor  with  your  infernal  Church.  You 
understand  that." 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  know  it.  It  was  right  that  you 
should  be  the  one  to  come  and  take  her  away.  The 
Lord's  vengeance  was  well  thought  out.  Oh,  how 
much  more  he  can  make  us  suffer  than  you  could 
with  your  clumsy  killings!  She  must  go,  but  wait 
—  not  yet  —  not  yet.  Oh,  my  God !  I  couldn't  stand 
it  to  see  her  go.  It  would  cut  into  my  heart  and 
leave  me  to  bleed  to  death.  No,  no,  no  —  don't! 
Please  don't !  Don't  pile  it  all  on  me  at  the  last. 
The  end  has  come  anyway.  Don't  do  that  —  don't, 
don't!" 

"  There,  there,  be  still  now."  There  was  a  rough 
sort  of  soothing  in  Follett's  voice,  and  they  were  both 
silent  a  moment.  Then  the  young  man  went  on : 

"  But  what  do  you  expect?  Suppose  everything 
was  left  to  you,  Mister.  Come  now,  you're  trying 
to  talk  fair.  Suppose  I  leave  it  to  you  —  only  you 
know  you  can't  keep  her." 

"  Yes,  it  can't  be,  but  let  her  stay  a  little  while; 
let  me  see  her  a  few  times  more;  let  me  know  she 
doesn't  think  I'm  bad;  and  promise  never  to  tell 
her  all  of  it.  Let  her  always  think  I  was  a  good 
man.  Do  promise  me  that.  I'd  do  it  for  you,  Fol- 
lett.  It  won't  hurt  you.  Let  her  think  I  was  a  good 


man." 


"How  long  do  you  want  her  to  stay  here?  — 
a  week,  ten  days?  " 

"  It  will  kill  me  when  she  goes ! " 
"Oh,  well,  two  weeks?" 


406         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  That's  good  of  you ;  you're  kinder  at  your  age 
than  I  was  —  I  shall  die  when  she  goes." 

"  Well,  I  wouldn't  want  to  live  if  I  were  you." 

"  Just  a  little  longer,  knowing  that  she  cares  for 
me.  I've  never  been  free  to  have  the  love  of  a  woman 
the  way  you  will  some  day,  though  I've  hungered 
and  sickened  for  it  —  for  a  woman  who  would 
understand  and  be  close.  But  this  girl  has  been 
the  soul  of  it  some  way.  See  here,  Follett,  let  her 
stay  this  summer,  or  until  I'm  dead.  That  can't  be 
a  long  time.  I've  felt  the  end  coming  for  a  year  now. 
Let  her  stay,  believing  in  me.  Let  me  know  to  the 
last  that  I'm  the  only  man  who  has  been  in  her 
heart,  who  has  won  her  confidence  and  her  love.  Oh, 
I  mean  fair.  You  stay  with  us  yourself  and  watch. 
Come  —  but  look  there,  look,  man !  " 

"Well,  — what?" 

"  That  candle  is  going  out,  —  we'll  be  in  the 
dark  " — he  grasped  the  other's  arm — "  in  the  dark, 
and  now  I'm  afraid  again.  Don't  leave  me  here! 
It  would  be  an  awful  death  to  die.  Here's  that 
thing  now  on  the  bed  behind  me.  It's  trying  to 
get  around  in  front  where  I'll  have  to  see  it  —  get 
another  candle.  No  —  don't  leave  me,  —  this  one 
will  go  out  while  you're  gone."  All  his  strength 
went  into  the  grip  on  Follett's  arm.  The  candle  was 
sputtering  in  its  pool  of  grease. 

"  There,  it's  gone  —  now  don't,  don't  leave  me. 
It's  trying  to  crawl  over  me  —  I  smell  the  blood  —  " 

"  Well  —  lie  down  there  —  it  serves  you  right. 
There  —  stop  it  —  I'll  stay  with  you." 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         407 

Until  dawn  Follett  sat  by  the  bunk,  submitting 
his  arm  to  the  other's  frenzied  grip.  From  time  to 
time  he  somewhat  awkwardly  uttered  little  words 
that  were  meant  to  be  soothing,  as  he  would  have 
done  to  a  frightened  child. 

When  morning  brought  the  gray  light  into  the 
little  room,  the  haunted  man  fell  into  a  doze,  and 
Follett,  gently  unclasping  the  hands  from  his  arm, 
arose  and  went  softly  out.  He  was  cramped  from 
sitting  still  so  long,  and  chilled,  and  his  arm  hurt 
where  the  other  had  gripped  it.  He  pulled  back 
the  blue  woollen  sleeve  and  saw  above  his  wrist  livid 
marks  where  the  nails  had  sunk  into  his  flesh. 

Then  out  of  the  room  back  of  him  came  a  sharp 
cry,  as  from  one  who  had  awakened  from  a  dream 
of  terror.  He  stepped  to  the  door  again  and  looked 
in. 

"  There  now  —  don't  be  scared  any  more.  The 
daylight  has  come;  it's  all  right  —  all  right  —  go  to 
sleep  now  —  " 

He  stood  listening  until  the  man  he  had  come  to 
kill  was  again  quiet.  Then  he  went  outside  and 
over  to  the  creek  back  of  the  willows  to  bathe  in 
the  fresh  running  water. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 

Ruel  Follett' s  Way  of  Business 

BY  the  time  the  women  were  stirring  that  morn 
ing,  Follett  galloped  up  on  his  horse.  Prudence 
saw  him  from  the  doorway  as  he  turned  in  from 
the  main  road,  sitting  his  saddle  with  apparent  care 
lessness,  his  arms  loose  from  the  shoulders,  shifting 
lightly  with  the  horse's  motion,  as  one  who  had 
made  the  center  of  gravity  his  slave.  It  was  a 
style  of  riding  that  would  have  made  a  scandal  in 
any  riding-school ;  but  it  seemed  to  be  well  calculated 
for  the  quick  halts,  sudden  swerves,  and  acute  angles 
affected  by  the  yearling  steer  in  his  moments  of  ex 
citement. 

He  dismounted,  glowing  from  his  bath  in  the  icy 
water  of  the  creek  and  from  the  headlong  gallop 
up  from  Beil  Wardle's  corral. 

"  Good  morning,  Miss  Prudence." 

"  Good  morning,  Mr.  Follett.  Will  you  take 
breakfast  with  us  directly?  " 

"  Yes,  and  it  can't  be  too  directly  for  me.  I'm 
wolfish.  Miss  Prudence,  your  pa  and  me  had  some 
talk  last  night,  and  I'm  going  to  bunk  in  with  you 
all  for  awhile,  till  I  get  some  business  fixed  up." 

408 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         409 

She  smiled  with  unaffected  gladness,  and  he  no 
ticed  that  her  fresh  morning  colour  was  like  that  of 
the  little  wild  roses  he  had  lately  brushed  the  dew 
from  along  the  creek. 

"  We  shall  be  glad  to  have  you." 

"  It's  right  kind  of  you ;  I'm  proud  to  hear  you 
say  so."  He  had  taken  off  the  saddle  with  its  gay 
coloured  Navajo  blanket,  and  the  bridle  of  plaited 
rawhide  with  its  conchos  and  its  silver  bit.  Now 
he  rubbed  the  back  of  his  horse  where  the  saddle  had 
been,  ending  with  a  slap  that  sent  the  beast  off  with 
head  down  and  glad  heels  in  the  air. 

"  There  now,  Dandy !  don't  bury  your  ribs  too 
deep  under  that  new  grass." 

"  My  father  will  be  glad  to  have  you  and  Dandy 
stay  a  long  time." 

He  looked  at  her  quickly,  and  then  away  before 
he  spoke.  It  was  a  look  that  she  thought  seemed  to 
say  more  than  the  words  that  followed  it. 

"  Well,  the  fact  is,  Miss  Prudence,  I  don't  just 
know  how  long  I'll  have  to  be  in  these  parts.  I 
got  some  particular  kind  of  business  that's  lasting 
longer  than  I  thought  it  would.  I  reckon  it's  one  of 
those  jobs  where  you  have  to  let  it  work  itself  out 
while  you  sit  still  and  watch.  Sometimes  you  get 
business  on  hand  that  seems  to  know  more  about 
itself  than  you  do." 

"  That's  funny." 

"  Yes,  it's  like  when  they  first  sent  me  out  on  the 
range.  They  were  cutting  out  steers  from  a  big 
bunch,  and  they  put  me  on  a  little  blue  roan  to  hold 


410         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

the  cut.  Well,  cattle  hate  to  leave  the  bunch,  so 
those  they  cut  out  would  start  to  run  back,  and  I 
had  to  head  and  turn  them.  I  did  it  so  well  I  was 
surprised  at  myself.  No  sooner  did  a  steer  head 
back  than  I  had  the  spurs  in  and  was  after  it,  and 
I'd  always  get  it  stopped.  I  certainly  did  think 
I  was  doing  it  high,  wide,  and  handsome,  like  you 
might  say;  only  once  or  twice  I  noticed  that  the 
pony  stopped  short  when  the  steer  did  without  my 
pulling  him  up,  as  if  he'd  seen  the  stop  before  I  did. 
And  then  pretty  soon  after,  a  yearling  that  was  just 
the  —  excuse  me  —  that  was  awful  spry  at  dodging, 
led  me  a  chase,  the  pony  stopped  stiff-legged  when 
the  steer  did,  and  while  I  was  leaning  one  way  he 
was  off  after  the  steer  the  other  way  so  quick  that 
I  just  naturally  slid  off.  I  watched  him  head  and 
turn  that  steer  all  by  himself,  and  then  I  learned 
something.  It  seemed  like  he  went  to  sleep  when  I 
got  on  him.  But  after  that  I  didn't  pay  any  atten 
tion  to  the  cattle.  I  let  him  keep  the  whole  lookout, 
and  all  I  did  was  to  set  in  the  saddle.  He  was  a 
wise  old  cow-pony.  He  taught  me  a  lot  about  chas 
ing  steers.  He  was  always  after  one  the  minute  it 
left  the  cut,  and  he'd  know  just  the  second  it  was 
going  to  stop  and  turn ;  he'd  never  go  a  foot  farther 
than  the  steer  did,  and  he'd  turn  back  just  as  quick. 
I  knew  he  knew  I  was  green,  but  I  thought  the 
other  men  didn't,  so  I  just  set  quiet  and  played  off 
like  I  was  doing  it  all,  when  I  wasn't  really  doing  a 
thing  but  holding  on.  He  was  old,  and  they  didn't 
use  him  much  except  when  they  wanted  a  rope-horse 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         411 

around  the  corral.  And  he'd  made  a  lifelong  study 
of  steers.  He  knew  them  from  horns  to  tail,  and  by 
saying  nothing  and  looking  wise  I  thought  I'd  get 
the  credit  of  being  smart  myself.  It's  kind  of  that 
way  now.  I'm  holding  tight  and  looking  wise  about 
some  business  that  I  ain't  what  you  could  call  up  in." 

He  carried  the  saddle  and  bridle  into  the  house, 
and  she  followed  him.  They  found  Lorena  annoyed 
by  the  indisposition  of  her  husband. 

"  Dear  me  suz !  Here's  your  pa  bed-fast  again. 
He's  had  a  bad  night  and  won't  open  the  door  to 
let  me  tell  him  if  he  needs  anything.  He  says  he 
won't  even  take  spoon  victuals,  and  he  won't  get  up, 
and  his  chest  don't  hurt  him  so  that  ain't  it,  and  I 
never  was  any  hand  to  be  nattering  around  a  body, 
but  he  hadn't  ought  to  go  without  his  food  like  he 
does,  when  the  Father  himself  has  a  tabernacle  of 
flesh  like  you  or  me  —  though  the  Holy  Ghost  has 
not  —  and  it's  probably  mountain  fever  again,  so 
I'll  make  some  composition  tea  and  he's  just  got  to 
take  it.  Of  course  I  never  had  no  revelations  from 
the  Lord  and  never  did  I  claim  to  have,  but  you 
don't  need  the  Hbly  Ghost  coming  upon  you  to  tell 
you  the  plain  doings  of  common  sense." 

Whatever  the  nature  of  Mr.  Follett's  business,  his 
confidence  in  the  soundness  of  his  attitude  toward 
it  was  perfect.  He  showed  no  sign  of  abstraction 
or  anxiety;  no  sign  of  aught  but  a  desire  to  live 
agreeably  in  the  present,  —  a  present  that  included 
Prudence.  When  the  early  breakfast  was  over  they 
went  out  about  the  place,  through  the  peach-orchard 


412         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

and  the  vineyard  still  dewy,  lingering  in  the  shade 
of  a  plum-tree,  finding  all  masters  to  be  of  interest. 
For  a  time  they  watched  and  laughed  at  the  two 
calves  through  the  bars  of  the  corral,  cavorting 
feebly  on  stiffened  legs  while  the  bereaved  mothers 
cast  languishing  glances  at  them  from  outside,  con 
scious  that  their  milk  was  being  basely  diverted  from 
the  rightful  heirs.  They  picked  many  blossoms  and 
talked  of  many  things.  There  was  no  idle  moment 
from  early  morning  until  high  noon ;  and  yet,  though 
they  were  very  busy,  they  achieved  absolutely  noth 
ing. 

In  the  afternoon  Prudence  donned  her  own  som 
brero,  and  they  went  to  the  canon  to  fish.  From  a 
clump  of  the  yellowish  green  willows  that  fringed 
the  stream,  Follett  cut  a  slender  wand.  To  this 
he  fixed  a  line  and  a  tiny  hook  that  he  had  carried 
in  his  hat,  and  for  the  rest  of  the  distance  to  the 
canon's  mouth  he  collected  such  grasshoppers  as 
lingered  too  long  in  his  shadow.  Entering  the  canon, 
they  followed  up  the  stream,  clambering  over  broken 
rocks,  skirting  huge  boulders,  and  turning  aside  to 
go  around  a  gorge  that  narrowed  the  torrent  and 
flung  it  down  in  a  little  cascade. 

Here  and  there  Follett  would  flicker  his  hook  over 
the  surface  of  a  shaded  pool,  poise  it  at  the  foot  of 
a  ripple,  skim  it  across  an  eddy,  cast  it  under  a  shelf 
of  rock  or  dangle  it  in  some  promising  nook  by  the 
willow  roots,  shielding  himself  meanwhile  as  best  he 
could ;  here  behind  a  boulder,  there  bending  a  willow 
in  front  of  him,  again  lying  flat  on  the  bank,  taking 


THE   LIONS   OF    THE   LORD         413 

care  to  keep  even  his  shadow  off  the  stream  and  to 
go  silently. 

From  where  she  followed,  Prudence  would  see  the 
surface  of  the  water  break  with  a  curling  gleam  of 
gold,  which  would  give  way  to  a  bubbling  splash ; 
then  she  would  see  the  willow  rod  bend,  see  it  vibrate 
and  thrill  and  tremble,  the  point  working  slowly  over 
the  bank.  Then  perhaps  the  rod  would  suddenly 
straighten  out  for  a  few  seconds  only  to  bend  again, 
slowly,  gently,  but  mercilessly.  Or  perhaps  the  point 
continued  to  come  in  until  it  was  well  over  the  bank 
and  the  end  of  the  line  close  by.  Then  after  a  frantic 
splashing  on  the  margin  of  the  stream  the  conquered 
trout  would  be  gasping  on  the  bank,  a  thing  of 
shivering  gleams  of  blended  brown  and  gold  and 
pink.  At  first  she  pitied  the  fish  and  regretted  the 
cruelty  of  man,  but  Follett  had  other  views. 

"  Why,"  he  said,  "  a  trout  is  the  cruelest  beast 
there  is.  Look  at  it  trying  to  swallow  this  poor  little 
hopper  that  it  thought  tumbled  into  the  water  by 
accident.  It  just  loves  to  eat  its  stuff  alive.  And  it 
isn't  particular.  It  would  just  as  lief  eat  its  own 
children.  Now  you  take  that  one  there,  and  say  he 
was  ten  thousand  times  as  big  as  he  is,  and  you  were 
coming  along  here  and  your  foot  slipped  and  Mr. 
Trout  was  lying  behind  this  rock  here  —  hungry. 
Say!  What  a  mouthful  you'd  make,  pink  dress  and 
all  —  he'd  have  you  swallowed  in  a  second,  and  then 
he'd  sneak  back  behind  the  rock  there,  wiping  his 
mouth,  and  hoping  your  little  sister  or  somebody 
would  be  along  in  a  minute  and  fall  in  too." 


414         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

11  Ugh !  —  Why,  what  horrible  little  monsters ! 
Let  me  catch  one." 

And  so  she  fished  under  his  direction.  They 
lurked  together  in  the  shadows  of  rocks,  while  he 
showed  her  how  to  flicker  the  bait  in  the  current, 
here  holding  her  hand  on  the  rod,  again  supporting 
her  while  she  leaned  out  to  cast  around  a  boulder, 
each  feeling  the  other's  breathless  caution  and  look 
ing  deep  into  each  other's  eyes  through  seconds  of 
tense  silence. 

Such  as  they  were,  these  were  the  only  results  of 
the  lesson ;  results  that  left  them  in  easy  friendliness 
toward  each  other.  For  the  fish  were  not  deceived  by 
her.  He  would  point  out  some  pool  where  very 
probably  a  hungry  trout  was  lying  in  wait  with  his 
head  to  the  current,  and  she  would  try  to  skim  the 
lure  over  it.  More  than  once  she  saw  the  fish  dart 
toward  it,  but  never  did  she  quite  convince  them. 
Oftener  she  saw  them  flit  up-stream  in  fright,  like 
flashes  of  gray  lightning.  Yet  at  length  she  felt 
she  had  learned  all  that  could  be  taught  of  the  art, 
and  that  further  failure  would  mean  merely  a  lack 
of  appetite  or  spirit  in  the  fish.  So  she  went  on 
alone,  while  Follett  stopped  to  clean  the  dozen  trout 
he  had  caught. 

While  she  was  in  sight  he  watched  her,  the  figure 
bending  lithe  as  the  rod  she  held,  moving  lightly,  now 
a  long,  now  a  short  step,  half  kneeling  to  throw  the 
bait  into  an  eddy;  then  off  again  with  determined 
strides  to  the  next  likely  pool.  When  he  could  no 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         415 

longer  see  her,  he  fell  to  work  on  his  fish,  scouring 
their  slime  off  in  the  dry  sand. 

When  she  returned,  she  found  him  on  his  back, 
his  hat  off,  his  arms  flung  out  above  his  head,  fast 
asleep.  She  sat  near  by  on  a  smooth  rock  at  the 
water's  edge  and  waited  —  without  impatience,  for 
this  was  the  first  time  she  had  been  free  to  look  at 
him  quite  as  she  wished  to.  She  studied  him  closely 
now.  He  seemed  to  her  like  some  young  power  of 
that  far  strange  eastern  land.  She  thought  of  some 
thing  she  had  heard  him  say  about  Dandy :  "  He's 
game  and  fearless  and  almighty  prompt,  —  but  he's 
kind  and  gentle  too."  She  was  pleased  to  think  it 
described  the  master  as  well  as  the  horse.  And  she 
was  glad  they  had  been  such  fine  playmates  the  whole 
day  long.  When  the  shadow  moved  off  his  face 
and  left  it  in  the  slanting  rays  of  the  sun,  she  broke 
off  a  spruce  bough  and  propped  it  against  the  rock  to 
shield  him. 

And  then  she  sighed,  for  they  could  be  playmates 
only  in  forgetfulness.  He  was  a  Gentile,  and  by 
that  token  wicked  and  lost ;  unless  —  and  in  that 
moment  she  flushed,  feeling  the  warmth  of  a  high 
purpose. 

She  would  save  him.  He  was  worth  saving,  from 
his  crown  of  yellow  hair  to  the  high  heels  of  his 
Mexican  boots.  Strong,  clean,  gentle,  and  —  she 
hesitated  for  a  word  —  interesting  —  he  must  be 
brought  into  the  Kingdom,  and  she  would  do  it. 
She  looked  up  again  and  met  his  wide-open  eyes. 

They  both  laughed.    "  I  sat  up  with  your  pa  last 


4i 6         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

night,"  he  said,  ashamed  of  having  slept.  "  We  had 
some  business  to  palaver  about." 

He  had  tied  the  fish  into  a  bundle  with  aspen 
leaves  and  damp  moss  around  them,  and  now  they 
went  back  down  the  stream.  In  the  flush  of  her 
new  role  as  missionary  she  allowed  herself  to  feel 
a  secret  motherly  tenderness  for  his  immortal  soul, 
letting  him  help  her  by  hand  or  arm  over  places 
where  she  knew  she  could  have  gone  much  better 
alone. 

Back  at  the  house  they  were  met  by  the  little  bent 
man,  who  had  tossed  upon  his  bed  all  day  in  the 
fires  of  his  hell.  He  looked  searchingly  at  them  to 
be  sure  that  Follett  had  kept  his  secret.  Then,  re 
lieved  by  the  frank  glance  of  Prudence,  he  fell  to 
musing  on  the  two,  so  young,  so  fresh,  so  joyous 
in  the  world  and  in  each  other,  seeing  them  side  by 
side  with  those  little  half-felt,  timidly  implied,  or 
unconsciously  expressed  confidences  of  boy  and  girl ; 
sensing  the  memory  of  his  own  lost  youth's  aroma, 
his  youth  that  had  slipped  off  unrecked  in  the  haze 
of  his  dreams  of  glory.  For  this  he  felt  very  tenderly 
toward  them,  wishing  that  they  were  brother  and 
sister  and  his  own. 

That  evening,  while  they  sat  out  of  doors,  she 
said,  very  resolutely: 

"  I'm  going  to  teach  Mr.  Follett  some  truth  to 
morrow  from  the  Book  of  Mormon.  He  says  he  has 
never  been  baptised  in  any  church." 

Follett  looked  interested  and  cordial,  but  her  father 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         417 

failed  to  display  the  enthusiasm  she  had  expected, 
and  seemed  even  a  little  embarrassed. 

"  You  mean  well,  daughter,  but  don't  be  discour 
aged  if  he  is  slow  to  take  our  truth.  Perhaps  he  has 
a  kind  of  his  own  as  good  as  ours.  A  woman  I 
knew  once  said  to  me,  '  Going  to  heaven  is  like  going 
to  mill;  if  your  wheat  is  good  the  miller  will  never 
ask  how  you  came.' ' 

"  But,  Father,  suppose  you  get  to  mill  and  have 
only  chaff?" 

"  That  is  the  same  answer  I  made,  dear.  I  wish 
I  hadn't." 

Later,  when  Prudence  had  gone,  the  two  men 
made  their  beds  by  the  fire  in  the  big  room.  Follett 
was  awakened  twice  by  the  other  putting  wood  on 
the  fire;  and  twice  more  by  his  pitiful  pleading  with 
something  at  his  back  not  to  come  in  front  of  him. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

The  Mission  to  a  Deserving  Gentile 

NOT  daunted  by  her  father's  strange  lack  of 
enthusiasm,  Prudence  arose  with  the  thought 
of  her  self-imposed  mission  strong  upon  her. 
Nor  was  she  in  any  degree  cooled  from  it  by  a 
sight  of  the  lost  sheep  striding  up  from  the  creek, 
the  first  level  sunrays  touching  his  tousled  yellow 
hair,  his  face  glowing,  breathing  his  full  of  the  wine- 
like  air,  and  joyously  showing  in  every  move 
his  faultless  attunement  with  all  outside  himself. 
The  frank  simplicity  of  his  greeting,  his  careless 
unenlightenment  of  his  own  wretched  spiritual  state, 
thrilled  her  like  an  electric  shock  with  a  strange  new 
pity  for  him.  She  prayed  on  the  spot  for  power  to 
send  him  into  the  waters  of  baptism.  When  the 
day  had  begun,  she  lost  no  time  in  opening  up  the 
truth  to  him. 

If  the  young  man  was  at  all  amazed  by  the  utter 
wholeness  of  her  conviction  that  she  was  stooping 
from  an  immense  height  to  pluck  him  from  the 
burning,  he  succeeded  in  hiding  it.  He  assumed  with 
her  at  once  that  she  was  saved,  that  he  was  in  the 
way  of  being  lost,  and  that  his  behooving  was  to 

418 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         419 

listen  to  her  meekly.  Her  very  evident  alarm  for 
his  lost  condition,  her  earnest  desire  to  save  him, 
were  what  he  felt  moved  to  dwell  upon,  rather  than 
a  certain  spiritual  condescension  which  he  could 
not  wholly  ignore. 

After  some  general  counsel,  in  the  morning,  she 
took  out  her  old,  dog-eared  "  Book  of  Mormon,"  a 
first  edition,  printed  at  Palmyra,  New  York,  in  1830, 
"  By  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  Atuthor  and  Proprietor,"  and 
led  the  not  unworthy  Gentile  again  to  the  canon. 
There  in  her  favourite  nook  of  pines  beside  the 
stream,  she  would  share  with  him  as  much  of  the 
Lord's  truth  as  his  darkened  mind  could  be  made 
conscious  of. 

When  at  last  she  was  seated  on  the  brown  carpet 
under  the  pines,  her  back  to  a  mighty  boulder,  the 
sacred  record  in  her  lap,  and  the  Gentile  prone  at 
her  feet,  she  found  it  no  easy  task  to  begin.  First 
he  must  be  brought  to  repent  of  his  sins.  She  began 
to  wonder  what  his  sins  could  be,  and  from  that 
drifted  into  an  idle  survey  of  his  profile,  the  line 
of  his  throat  as  his  head  lay  back  on  the  ground,  and 
the  strong  brown  hand,  veined  and  corded,  that 
curled  in  repose  on  his  breast.  She  checked  herself 
in  this ;  for  it  could  be  profitable  neither  to  her  soul 
nor  to  his. 

"  I'll  teach  you  about  the  Book  of  Mormon  first," 
she  ventured. 

"  I'd  like  to  hear  it,"  said  Follett,  cheerfully. 

"  Of  course  you  don't  know  anything  about  it." 

"  It  isn't  my  fault,  though.    I've  been  unfortunate 


420         THE  LIONS   OF  THE  LORD 

in  my  bringing  up,  that's  all."  He  turned  on  his 
side  and  leaned  upon  his  elbow  so  he  could  look  at 
her. 

"  You  see,  I've  been  brought  up  to  believe  that 
Mormons  were  about  as  bad  as  Mexicans.  And 
Mexicans  are  so  mean  that  even  coyotes  won't  touch 
them.  Down  at  the  big  bend  on  the  Santa  Fe  Trail 
they  shot  a  Mexican,  old  Jesus  Bavispee,  for  running 
off  cattle.  He  was  pretty  well  dried  out  to  begin 
with,  but  the  coyotes  wouldn't  have  a  thing  to  do 
with  him,  and  so  he  just  dried  up  into  a  mummy. 
They  propped  him  up  by  the  ford  there,  and  when 
the  cowboys  went  by  they  would  roll  a  cigarette  and 
light  it  and  fix  it  in  his  mouth.  Then  they'd  pat 
him  on  the  head  and  tell  him  what  a  good  old  boy 
he  was  —  star  bueno  —  the  only  good  Mexican 
above  ground  —  and  his  face  would  be  grinning  all 
the  time,  as  if  it  tickled  him.  When  they  find  a 
Mexican  rustling  cattle  they  always  leave  him  there, 
and  they  used  to  tell  me  that  the  Mormons  were  just 
as  bad  and  ought  to  be  fixed  that  way  too." 

"  I  think  that  was  horrible!  " 

"  Of  course  it  was.  They  were  bigoted.  But 
I'm  not.  I  know  right  well  there  must  be  good  Mexi 
cans  alive,  though  I  never  saw  one,  and  I  suppose 
of  course  there  must  be  —  " 

"Oh,  you're  worse  than  I  thought !  "  she  cried. 
"  Come  now,  do  try.  I  want  you  to  be  made  better, 
for  my  sake."  She  looked  at  him  with  real  pleading 
in  her  eyes.  He  dropped  back  to  the  ground  with  a 
thrill  of  searching  religious  fervour. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         421 

"  Go  on,"  he  said,  feelingly.  "  I'm  ready  for  any 
thing.  I  have  kind  of  a  good  feeling  running 
through  me  already.  I  do  believe  you'll  be  a  power 
ful  lot  of  benefit  to  me." 

"  You  must  have  faith,"  she  answered,  intent  on 
the  book.  "  Now  I'll  tell  you  some  things  first." 

Had  the  Gentile  been  attentive  he  might  have 
learned  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  an  inspired 
record  of  equal  authority  with  the  Jewish  Scriptures, 
containing  the  revelations  of  Jehovah  to  his  Israel 
of  the  western  world  as  the  Bible  his  revelations  to 
Israel  in  the  Orient,  —  the  veritable  "  stick  of  Jo 
seph,"  that  was  to  be  one  with  "the  stick  of  Judah;" 
that  the  angel  Moroni,  a  messenger  from  the  pres 
ence  of  God,  appeared  to  Joseph  Smith,  clad  in  robes 
of  light,  and  told  him  where  were  hid  the  plates 
of  gold  on  which  were  graven  this  fulness  of  the 
everlasting  gospel ;  how  that  Joseph,  after  a  few 
years  of  preparation,  was  let  to  take  these  sacred 
plates  from  the  hill  of  Cumorah ;  also  an  instrument 
called  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  consisting  of  two 
stones  set  in  a  silver  bow  and  made  fast  to  a  breast 
plate,  this  having  been  prepared  by  the  hands  of  God 
for  use  in  translating  the  record  on  the  plates ;  how 
Joseph,  seated  behind  a  curtain  and  looking  through 
the  Urim  and  Thummim  at  the  characters  on  the 
plates,  had  seen  their  English  equivalents  over  them, 
and  dictated  these  to  his  amanuensis  on  the  other 
side  of  the  curtain. 

He  might  have  learned  that  when  the  book  was 
thus  translated,  the  angel  Moroni  had  reclaimed  the 


422         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

golden  plates  and  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  leaving 
the  sacred  deposit  of  doctrine  to  be  given  to  the 
world  by  Joseph  Smith;  that  the  Saviour  had  sub 
sequently  appeared  to  Joseph;  also  Peter,  James, 
and  John,  who  laid  hands  upon  him,  ordained  him, 
gave  him  the  Holy  Ghost,  authorised  him  to  baptise 
for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  to  organise  the  King 
dom  of  God  on  earth. 

"  Do  you  understand  so  far?  "  she  asked. 

"It's  fine!"  he  answered,  fervently.  "I  feel 
kind  of  a  glow  coming  over  me  already." 

She  looked  at  him  closely,  with  a  quick  suspicion, 
but  found  his  profile  uninforming;  at  least  of  any 
thing  needful  at  the  moment. 

"  Remember  you  must  have  faith,"  she  admon 
ished  him,  "  if  you  are  to  win  your  inheritance;  and 
not  question  or  doubt  or  find  fault,  or  —  or  make  fun 
of  anything.  It  says  right  here  on  the  title-page, 
4  And  now  if  there  be  faults,  it  be  the  mistake  of 
men;  wherefore  condemn  not  the  things  of  God 
that  ye  may  be  found  spotless  at  the  judgment  seat  of 
Christ.'  There  now,  remember!" 

"  Who's  finding  fault  or  making  fun  ?  "  he  asked, 
in  tones  that  seemed  to  be  pained. 

"  Now  I  think  I'd  better  read  you  some  verses.  I 
don't  know  just  where  to  begin." 

"  Something  about  that  Urim  and  Thingamajig," 
he  suggested. 

"  Urim  and  Thummim,"  she  corrected  —  "  now 
listen." 

Again,  had  the  Gentile   remained  attentive,   he 


THE   LIONS   OF    THE   LORD         423 

might  have  learned  how  the  Western  Hemisphere 
was  first  peopled  by  the  family  of  one  Jared,  who, 
after  the  confusion  of  tongues  at  Babel,  set  out  for 
the  new  land;  how  they  grew  and  multiplied,  but 
waxed  sinful,  and  finally  exterminated  one  another 
in  fierce  battles,  in  one  of  which  two  million  men 
were  slain. 

At  this  the  fallen  one  sat  up. 

"  '  And  it  came  to  pass  that  when  they  had  all 
fallen  by  the  sword,  save  it  were  Coriantumr  and 
Shiz,  behold  Shiz  had  fainted  with  loss  of  blood. 
And  it  came  to  pass  when  Coriantumr  had  leaned 
upon  his  sword  and  rested  a  little,  he  smote  off  the 
head  of  Shiz.  And  it  came  to  pass,  after  he  had 
smote  off  the  head  of  Shiz,  that  Shiz  raised  up  on  his 
hands  and  fell;  and  after  he  had  struggled  for 
breath  he  died." 

The  Gentile  was  animated  now. 

"  Say,  that  Shiz  was  all  right,  —  raised  up  on  his 
hands  and  struggled  for  breath  after  his  head  was 
cut  off!" 

Hereupon  she  perceived  that  his  interest  was  be 
come  purely  carnal.  So  she  refused  to  read  of  any 
more  battles,  though  he  urged  her  warmly  to  do  it. 
She  returned  to  the  expedition  of  Jared,  while  the 
lost  sheep  fell  resignedly  on  his  back  again. 

"  *  And  the  Lord  said,  Go  to  work  and  build  after 
the  manner  of  barges  which  ye  have  hitherto  built. 
And  it  came  to  pass  that  the  brother  of  Jared  did 
go  to  work,  and  also  his  brethren,  and  built  barges 
after  the  manner  which  they  had  built,  after  the  in- 


424         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

structions  of  the  Lord.  And  they  were  small,  and 
they  were  light  upon  the  water,  like  unto  the  light 
ness  of  a  fowl  upon  the  water;  and  they  were  built 
like  unto  a  manner  that  they  were  exceeding  tight, 
even  that  they  would  hold  water  like  unto  a  dish; 
and  the  bottom  thereof  was  tight  like  unto  a  dish, 
and  the  ends  thereof  were  peaked;  and  the  top 
thereof  was  tight  like  unto  a  dish;  and  the  length 
thereof  was  the  length  of  a  tree;  and  the  door 
thereof  when  it  was  shut  was  tight  like  unto  a  dish. 
And  it  came  to  pass  that  the  brother  of  Jared  cried 
unto  the  Lord,  saying  — ' 

She  forgot  him  a  little  time,  in  the  reading,  until 
it  occurred  to  her  that  he  was  singularly  quiet.  She 
glanced  up,  and  was  horrified  to  see  that  he  slept. 
The  trials  of  Jared's  brother  in  building  the  boats 
that  were  about  the  length  of  a  tree,  combined  with 
his  broken  rest  of  the  night  before,  had  lured  him 
into  the  dark  valley  of  slumber  where  his  soul  could 
not  lave  in  the  waters  of  truth.  But  something  in 
the  sleeping  face  softened  her,  and  she  smiled,  wait 
ing  for  him  to  awaken.  He  was  still  only  a  way- 
mark  to  the  kingdom  of  folly,  but  she  had  made  a 
beginning,  and  she  would  persevere.  He  must  be 
saved  into  the  household  of  faith.  And  indeed  it 
was  shameful  that  such  as  he  should  depend  for  their 
salvation  upon  a  chance  meeting  with  an  unskilled 
girl  like  herself.  She  wondered  somewhat  indig 
nantly  how  any  able-bodied  Saint  could  rest  in  the 
valley  while  this  man's  like  were  dying  in  sin  for 
want  of  the  word.  As  her  eye  swept  the  sleeping 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         425 

figure,  she  was  even  conscious  of  a  little  wicked 
resentment  against  the  great  plan  itself,  which  could 
under  any  circumstances  decree  such  as  he  to  perdi 
tion. 

He  opened  his  eyes  after  awhile  to  ask  her  why 
she  had  stopped  reading,  and  when  she  told  him,  he 
declared  brazenly  that  he  had  merely  closed  his  eyes 
to  shut  out  everything  but  her  words. 

"  I  heard  everything,"  he  insisted,  again  raised 
upon  his  elbows.  "  '  It  was  built  like  unto  a  dish, 
and  the  length  was  about  as  long  as  a  tree  — ' ' 

"What  was?" 

"  The  Urim  and  Thummim." 

When  he  saw  that  she  was  really  distressed,  he 
tried  to  cheer  her. 

"  Now  don't  be  discouraged,"  he  said,  as  they 
started  home  in  the  late  afternoon.  "  You  can't 
expect  to  get  me  roped  and  hog-tied  the  very  first 
day.  There's  lots  of  time,  and  you'll  have  to  keep 
at  it.  When  I  was  a  kid  learning  to  throw  a  rope, 
I  used  to  practise  on  the  skull  of  a  steer  that  was 
nailed  to  a  post.  At  first  it  didn't  look  like  I  could 
ever  do  it.  I'd  forget  to  let  the  rope  loose  from  my 
left  hand,  or  I  wouldn't  make  the  loop  line  out  flat 
around  my  head,  or  she'd  switch  off  to  one  side, 
or  something.  But  at  last  I'd  get  over  the  horns 
every  time.  Then  I  learned  to  do  it  running  past  the 
post ;  and  after  that  I'd  go  down  around  the  corral 
and  practise  on  some  quiet  old  heifer,  and  so  on. 
The  only  thing  is  —  never  give  up." 


426         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  But  what  good  does  it  do  if  you  won't  pay 
attention?" 

"  Oh,  well,  I  can't  learn  a  new  religion  all  at  once. 
It's  like  riding  a  new  saddle.  You  put  one  on  and 
drag  the  cinches  up  and  lash  them,  and  you  think 
it's  going  to  be  fine,  and  you  don't  see  why  it  isn't. 
But  you  find  out  that  you  have  to  ride  it  a  little 
at  a  time  and  break  it  in.  Now,  you  take  a  fresh 
start  with  me  to-morrow." 

"  Of  course  I'm  going  to  try." 

"  And  it  isn't  as  if  I  was  regular  out-and-out 
sinful.  My  adopted  father,  Ezra  Calkins,  he's  a 
good  man.  But,  now  I  think  of  it,  I  don't  know 
what  church  he  ever  did  belong  to.  He'll  go  to 
any  of  'em,  —  don't  make  any  difference  which,  — 
Baptist,  Methodist,  Lutheran,  Catholic;  he  says  he 
can  get  all  he's  looking  for  out  of  any  of  'em,  and 
he  kind  of  likes  to  change  off  now  and  then.  But  he's 
a  good  man.  He  won't  hire  any  one  that  cusses  too 
bad  or  is  hard  on  animals,  and  he  won't  even  let  the 
freighters  work  on  Sunday.  He  brought  me  up  not 
to  drink  or  gamble,  or  go  round  with  low  folks  and 
all  like  that,  and  not  to  swear  except  when  you're 
driving  cattle  and  have  to.  *  Keep  clean  inside  and 
out/  he  says,  '  and  then  you're  safe,'  he  says.  '  Then 
tie  up  to  some  good  church  for  company,  if  you  want 
to,  not  thinking  bad  of  the  others,  just  because  you 
didn't  happen  to  join  them.  Or  it  don't  hurt  any 
to  graze  a  little  on  all  the  ranges,'  he  says,  And  he 
sent  me  to  public  school  and  brought  me  up  pretty 
well,  so  you  can  see  I'm  not  plumb  wicked.  Now 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         427 

after  you  get  me  coming,  I  may  be  easier  than  you 
think." 

She  resolved  to  pray  for  some  special  gift  to  meet 
his  needs.  If  he  were  not  really  sinful,  there  was 
all  the  more  reason  why  he  should  be  saved  into 
the  Kingdom.  The  sun  went  below  the  western  rim 
of  the  valley  as  they  walked,  and  the  cooling  air 
was  full  of  the  fresh  summer  scents  from  field  and 
garden  and  orchard. 

Down  the  road  behind  them,  a  half-hour  later, 
swung  the  tall,  loose- jointed  figure  of  Seth  Wright, 
his  homespun  coat  across  his  arm,  his  bearskin  cap 
in  his  hand,  his  heated  brow  raised  to  the  cooling 
breeze.  His  ruffle  of  neck  whiskers,  virtuously 
white,  looked  in  the  dying  sunlight  quite  as  if  a 
halo  he.  had  worn  was  dropped  under  his  chin.  A 
little  past  the  Rae  place  he  met  Joel  returning  from 
the  village. 

"  Evening,  Brother  Rae!  You  ain't  looking  right 
tollable." 

"  It's  true,  Brother  Seth.  I've  thought  lately  that 
I'm  standing  in  the  end  of  my  days." 

"  Peart  up,  peart  up,  man !  Look  at  me,  —  sixty- 
eight  years  come  December,  never  an  ache  nor  a 
pain,  and  got  all  my  own  teeth.  Take  another  wife. 
That  keeps  a  man  young  if  he's  got  jedgment."  He 
glanced  back  toward  the  Rae  house. 

"  And  I  want  to  speak  to  you  special  about  some 
thing  —  this  young  dandy  Gentile  you're  harbour 
ing.  Course  it's  none  of  my  business,  but  I  wouldn't 
want  one  of  my  girls  companying  with  a  Gentile  — 


428         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

off  up  in  that  canon  with  him,  at  that  —  fishing  one 
day,  reading  a  book  the  next,  walking  clost  together, 
—  and  specially  not  when  Brigham  had  spoke  for 
her.  Oh,  I  know  what  I'm  talking  about!  I  had 
my  mallet  and  frow  up  there  two  days  now,  just 
beyond  the  lower  dry-fork,  splitting  out  shakes  for 
my  new  addition,  and  I  seen  'em  with  my  own  eyes. 
You  know  what  young  folks  is,  Elder.  That  re 
minds  me  —  I'm  going  to  seal  up  that  sandy-haired 
daughter  of  Bishop  Tanner's  next  week  some  time; 
soon  as  we  get  the  roof  on  the  new  part.  But  I 
thought  I'd  speak  to  you  about  this  —  a  word  to 
the  wise!  " 

The  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains  passed  on, 
whistling  a  lively  air.  The  little  bent  man  went 
with  slow,  troubled  steps  to  his  own  home.  He  did 
know  the  way  of  young  people,  and  he  felt  that  he 
was  beginning  to  know  the  way  of  God.  Each  day 
one  wall  or  another  of  his  prison  house  moved  a 
little  in  upon  him.  In  the  end  it  would  crush.  He 
had  given  up  everything  but  Prudence;  and  now, 
for  his  wicked  clinging  to  her,  she  was  to  be  taken 
from  him ;  if  not  by  Brigham,  then  by  this  Gentile, 
who  would  of  course  love  her,  and  who,  if  he  could 
not  make  her  love  him,  would  be  tempted  to  alienate 
her  by  exposing  the  crime  of  the  man  she  believed 
to  be  her  father.  The  walls  were  closing  about  him. 

When  he  reached  the  house,  they  were  sitting  on 
the  bench  outside. 

"  Sometimes,"  Follett  was  saying,  "  you  can't 
tell  at  first  whether  a  thing  is  right  or  wrong.  You 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         429 

have  to  take  a  long  squint,  like  when  you're  in  the 
woods  on  a  path  that  ain't  been  used  much  lately 
and  has  got  blind.  Put  your  face  right  close  down 
to  it  and  you  can't  see  a  sign  of  a  trail ;  it's  the  same 
as  the  ground  both  sides,  covered  with  leaves  the 
same  way  and  not  a  footprint  or  anything.  But  you 
stand  up  and  look  along  it  for  fifty  feet,  and  there 
she  is  so  plain  you  couldn't  miss  it.  Isn't  that  so, 
Mr.  Rae?" 

Prudence  went  in,  and  her  father  beckoned  him 
a  little  way  from  the  door. 

"  You're  sure  you  will  never  tell  her  anything 
about  —  anything,  until  I'm  gone?  —  You  promised 
me,  you  know." 

"  Well,  didn't  I  promise  you?  " 

"  Not  under  any  circumstances  ?  " 

"  You  don't  keep  back  anything  about  '  circum 
stances  '  when  you  make  a  promise,"  retorted  Mr. 
Follett. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

The  Gentile  Issues  an  Ultimatum 

JUNE  went;  July  came  and  went.  It  was  a 
hot  summer  below,  where  the  valley  widens  to 
let  in  Amalon;  but  up  in  the  little-sunned 
aisle  of  Box  Canon  it  was  always  cool.  There  the 
pines  are  straight  and  reach  their  heads  far  into  the 
sky,  each  a  many-wired  harp  to  the  winds  that  come 
down  from  the  high  divide.  Their  music  is  never 
still ;  now  a  low,  ominous  rush,  soft  but  mighty, 
swelling  as  it  nears,  the  rush  of  a  winged  host,  ris 
ing  swiftly  to  one  fearsome  crescendo  until  the 
listener  cowers  instinctively  as  if  under  the  tread 
of  many  feet;  then  dying  away  to  mutter  threats 
in  the  distance,  and  to  come  again  more  fiercely; 
or,  it  may  be,  to  come  with  a  gentler  sweep,  as  if 
pacified,  even  yearning,  for  the  moment.  Or, 
again,  the  same  wind  will  play  quieter  airs  through 
the  green  boughs,  a  chamber-music  of  silken  rus 
tlings,  of  feathered  fans  just  stirring,  of  whisper 
ings,  and  the  sighs  of  a  woman. 

It  is  cool  beneath  these  pines,  and  pleasant  on  the 
couches  of  brown  needles  that  have  fallen  through 

430 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         431 

all  the  years.  Here,  in  the  softened  light,  amid  the 
resinous  pungence  of  the  cones  and  the  green 
boughs,  where  the  wind  above  played  an  endless, 
solemn  accompaniment  to  the  careless  song  of  the 
stream  below,  the  maiden  Saint  tried  to  save  into 
the  Kingdom  a  youthful  Gentile  of  whom  she  dis 
covered  almost  daily  some  fresh  reason  why  he 
should  not  be  lost.  The  reasons  had  become  so 
many  that  they  were  now  heavy  upon  her.  And 
yet,  while  the  youth  submitted  meekly  to  her 
ministry,  appearing  even  to  crave  it,  he  was  un 
deniably  either  dense  or  stubborn  —  in  either  case 
of  defective  spirituality. 

She  was  grieved  by  the  number  of  times  he  fell 
asleep  when  she  read  from  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
The  times  were  many  because,  though  she  knew  it 
not,  he  had  come  to  be,  in  effect,  a  night-nurse  to  the 
little  bent  man  below,  who  was  now  living  out  his 
days  in  quiet  desperation,  and  his  nights  in  a  fear 
of  something  behind  him.  Some  nights  Follett 
would  have  unbroken  rest;  but  oftener  he  was 
awakened  by  the  other's  grip  on  his  arm.  Then  he 
would  get  up,  put  fresh  logs  on  the  fire  or  light  a 
candle  and  talk  with  the  haunted  man  until  he 
became  quiet  again. 

After  a  night  like  this  it  was  not  improbable  that 
he  would  fall  asleep  in  very  sound  of  the  trumpet 
of  truth  as  blown,  by  the  grace  of  God,  through  the 
seership  of  Joseph  Smith.  Still  he  had  learned 
much  in  the  course  of  the  two  months.  She  had 
taught  him  between  naps  that,  for  fourteen  hundred 


432         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

years,  to  the  time  of  Joseph  Smith,  there  had  been 
a  general  and  awful  apostasy  from  the  true  faith, 
so  that  the  world  had  been  without  an  authorised 
priesthood.  She  had  also  taught  him  to  be  ill  at  ease 
away  from  her,  —  to  be  content  when  with  her, 
whether  they  talked  of  religion  or  tried  for  the  big, 
sulky  three-pounder  that  had  his  lair  at  the  foot  of 
the  upper  Cascade. 

Again  she  had  taught  him  that  other  churches 
had  wickedly  done  away  with  immersion  for  the 
remission  of  sins  and  the  laying  on  of  hands  for  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  also  that  there  was  a  pecul 
iar  quality  in  the  satisfaction  of  being  near  her  that 
he  had  never  known  before,  —  an  astonishing  truth 
that  it  was  fine  to  think  about  when  he  lay  where 
he  could  look  up  at  her  pretty,  serious  face. 

He  fell  asleep  at  night  usually  with  a  mind  full 
of  confusion,  —  infant  baptism  —  a  slender  figure 
in  a  pink  dress  or  a  blue  —  the  Trinity  —  a  firm 
little  brown  hand  pointing  the  finger  of  admonition 
at  him  —  the  regeneration  of  man  —  hair,  dark  and 
lustrous,  that  fell  often  half  away  from  what  he 
called  its  "  lashings  "  —  eternal  punishment  — 
earnest  eyes  —  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  —  and  a 
pleading,  earnest  voice. 

He  knew  a  few  things  definitely :  that  Moroni, 
last  of  the  Nephites,  had  hidden  up  unto  the  Lord 
the  golden  plates  in  the  hill  of  Cumorah;  and  that 
the  girl  who  taught  him  was  in  some  mysterious 
way  the  embodiment  of  all  the  wonderful  things 
he  had  ever  thought  he  wanted,  of  all  the  strange 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         433 

beauties  he  had  crudely  pictured  in  lonely  days 
along  the  trail.  Here  was  something  he  had  sup 
posed  could  come  true  only  in  a  different  world,  the 
kind  of  world  there  was  in  the  first  book  he  had 
ever  read,  where  there  had  seemed  to  be  no  one  but 
good  fairies  and  children  that  were  uncommonly 
deserving.  Yet  he  had  never  been  able  to  get 
clearly  into  his  mind  the  nature  and  precise  office 
of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  nor  had  he  ever  become  certain 
how  he  could  bring  this  wonderful  young  woman 
in  closer  relationship  with  himself.  He  felt  that  to 
put  out  his  hand  toward  her  —  except  at  certain 
great  moments  when  he  could  help  her  over  rough 
places  and  feel  her  golden  weight  upon  his  arm  — 
would  be  to  startle  her,  and  then  all  at  once  he  would 
awaken  from  a  dream  to  find  her  gone.  He  thought 
he  would  feel  very  badly  then,  for  probably  he 
would  never  be  able  to  get  back  into  the  same  dream 
again.  So  he  was  cautious,  resolving  to  make  the 
thing  last  until  it  came  true  of  itself. 

Once  when  they  followed  the  stream  down,  in  the 
late  afternoon,  he  had  mused  himself  so  full  of  the 
wonder  of  her  that  he  almost  forgot  his  caution  in 
an  amiable  impulse  to  let  her  share  in  his  feelings. 

"  You  know,"  he  began,  "  you're  like  as  if  I  had 
been  trying  to  think  of  a  word  I  wanted  to  say  — 
some  fine,  big  word,  a  fancy  one  —  but  I  couldn't 
think  of  it.  You  know  how  you  can't  think  of  the 
one  you  want  sometimes,  only  nothing  else  will  do 
in  place  of  it,  and  then  all  at  once,  when  you  quit 
trying  to  think,  it  flashes  over  you.  You're  like 


434         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

that.  I  never  could  think  of  you,  but  I  just  had 
to  because  I  couldn't  get  along  without  it,  and  then 
when  I  didn't  expect  it  you  just  happened  along  — 
the  word  came  along  and  said  itself." 

Without  speaking  she  had  run  ahead  to  pick  the 
white  and  blue  columbines  and  pink  roses.  And  he, 
alarmed  at  his  boldness,  fearing  she  would  now  be 
afraid  of  him,  went  forward  with  the  deep  purpose 
of  showing  her  a  light,  careless  mood,  to  convince 
her  that  he  had  meant  nothing  much. 

To  this  end  he  told  her  lively  anecdotes,  chaste 
classics  of  the  range  calculated  to  amuse,  until  they 
reached  the  very  door  of  home :  —  About  the  Brit 
ish  sailor  who,  having  drifted  up  the  Sacramento 
valley,  was  lured  to  mount  a  cow-pony  known  to 
be  hysterical;  of  how  he  had  declared  when  they 
picked  him  up  a  moment  later,  "If  I'd  been  aware 
of  the  gale  I'd  have  lashed  myself  to  the  rigging." 
Then  about  the  other  trusting  tenderfoot  who  was 
directed  to  insist  at  the  stable  in  Santa  Fe  that  they 
give  him  a  "  bucking  broncho ;  "  who  was  promptly 
accommodated  and  speedily  unseated  with  much 
flourish,  to  the  wicked  glee  of  those  who  had  de 
ceived  him;  and  who,  when  he  asked  what  the 
horse  had  done  and  was  told  that  he  had  "  bucked," 
had  thereupon  declared  gratefully,  "  Did  he  only 
buck?  It's  a  God's  mercy  he  didn't  broncho  too, 
or  he'd  have  killed  me !  " 

From  this  he  drifted  into  the  anecdote  of  old 
Chief  Chew-feather,  who  became  drunk  one  day 
and  made  a  nuisance  of  himself  in  the  streets  of 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         435 

Atchison;  how  he  had  been  driven  out  of  town  by 
Marshal  Ed  Lanigan,  who,  mounting  his  pony, 
chased  him  a  mile  or  so,  meantime  emptying  both 
his  six-shooters  at  the  fleeing  brave  by  way  of  mak 
ing  the  exact  situation  clear  even  to  a  clouded  mind ; 
and  how  the  alarmed  and  sobered  chief  had  ridden 
his  own  pony  to  a  shadow,  never  drawing  rein  until 
he  reached  the  encampment  of  his  tribe  at  dusk, 
to  report  that  "  the  whites  had  broken  out  at 
Atchison." 

He  noticed,  however,  that  she  was  affected  to 
even  greater  constraint  of  manner  by  these  sallies, 
though  he  laughed  heartily  himself  at  each  climax 
as  he  made  it,  determined  to  show  her  that  he  had 
meant  absolutely  nothing  the  moment  before.  He 
succeeded  so  little,  that  he  resolved  never  again  to 
be  reckless,  if  she  would  only  be  her  old  self  on  the 
morrow.  He  would  not  even  tell  her,  as  he  had 
meant  to,  that  looking  into  her  eyes  was  like  look 
ing  off  under  the  spruces,  where  it  was  dark  and 
yet  light. 

The  little  bent  man  at  the  house  would  look  at 
them  with  a  sort  of  helplessness  when  they  came 
in,  sometimes  even  forgetting  the  smile  he  was 
wont  to  wear  to  hide  his  hurts.  He  was  impressed 
anew  each  time  he  saw  them  with  the  punishing 
power  of  such  vengeance  as  was  left  to  the  Lord. 
He  could  see  more  than  either  of  the  pair  before 
him.  The  little  white-haired  boy  who  had  fought 
him  with  tooth  and  nail  so  long  ago,  to  be  not 
taken  from  Prudence,  had  now  come  back  with  the 


436         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

might  of  a  man,  even  the  might  of  a  lover,  to  take 
her  from  him  when  she  had  become  all  of  his  life. 
He  could  think  of  no  sharper  revenge  upon  himself 
or  his  people.  For  this  cowboy  was  the  spirit  in 
carnate  of  the  oncoming  East,  thorned  on  by  the 
Lord  to  avenge  his  Church's  crime. 

Day  after  day  he  would  lie  consuming  the  little 
substance  left  within  him  in  an  effort  to  save  him 
self ;  to  keep  by  him  the  child  who  had  become  his 
miser's  gold ;  to  keep  her  respect  above  all,  to  have 
her  think  him  a  good  man.  Yet  never  a  way 
would  open.  Here  was  the  boy  with  the  man's 
might,  and  they  were  already  lovers,  for  he  knew 
too  well  the  meaning  of  all  those  signs  which  they 
themselves  but  half  understood.  And  he  became 
more  miserable  day  by  day,  for  he  saw  clearly  it 
was  only  his  selfishness  that  made  him  suffer.  He 
had  met  so  many  tests,  and  now  he  must  fail  at  the 
last  great  sacrifice. 

Then  in  the  night  would  come  the  terrors  of  the 
dark,  the  curses  and  groans  of  that  always-dying 
thing  behind  him.  And  always  now  he  would  see 
the  hand  with  the  silver  bracelet  at  the  wrist, 
flaunting  in  his  face  the  shivering  strands  of  gold 
with  the  crimson  patch  at  the  end.  Yet  even  this, 
because  he  could  see  it,  was  less  fearful  than  the 
thing  he  could  not  see,  the  thing  that  crawled  or 
lurched  relentlessly  behind  him,  with  the  snoring 
sound  in  its  throat,  the  smell  of  warm  blood  and  the 
horrible  dripping  of  it,  whose  breath  he  could  feel 
on  his  neck  and  whose  nerveless  hands  sometimes 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         437 

fumbled  weakly  at  his  shoulder,  as  it  strove  to  come 
in  front  of  him. 

He  sat  sleepless  in  his  chair  with  candles  burn 
ing  for  three  nights  when  Follett,  late  in  August, 
went  off  to  meet  a  messenger  from  one  of  his 
father's  wagon-trains  which,  he  said,  was  on  its 
way  north.  Fearful  as  was  the  meaning  of  his 
presence,  he  was  inexpressibly  glad  when  the 
Gentile  returned  to  save  him  from  the  terrors  of  the 
night. 

And  there  was  now  a  new  goad  of  remorse.  The 
evening  before  Follett's  return  he  had  found  Pru 
dence  in  tears  after  a  visit  to  the  village.  With  a 
sudden  great  outrush  of  pity  he  had  taken  her  in 
his  arms  to  comfort  her,  feeling  the  selfishness 
strangely  washed  from  his  love,  as  the  sobs  con 
vulsed  her. 

"  Come,  come,  child  —  tell  your  father  what  it 
is,"  he  had  urged  her,  and  when  she  became  a  little 
quiet  she  had  told  him. 

"  Oh,  Daddy  dear  —  I've  just  heard  such  an  aw 
ful  thing,  what  they  talk  of  me  in  Amalon,  and 
of  you  and  my  mother  —  shameful !  " 

He  knew  then  what  was  coming;  he  had  won 
dered  indeed,  that  this  talk  should  be  so  long  in 
reaching  her;  but  he  waited  silently,  soothing  her. 

"  They  say,  whoever  my  mother  was,  you  couldn't 
have  married  her  —  that  Christina  is  your  first 
wife,  and  the  temple  records  show  it.  And  oh, 
Daddy,  they  say  it  means  that  I  am  a  child  of  sin 


438         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

—  and  shame  —  and  it  made  me  want  to  kill  my 
self." 

Another  passion  of  tears  and  sobs  had  over 
whelmed  her  and  all  but  broken  down  the  little  man. 
Yet  he  controlled  himself  and  soothed  her  again 
to  quietness. 

"  It  is  all  wrong,  child,  all  wrong.  You  are  not 
a  child  oi  sin,  but  a  child  of  love,  as  rightly  born  as 
any  in  Amalon.  Believe  me,  and  pay  no  heed  to  that 
talk." 

"  They  have  been  saying  it  for  years,  and  I  never 
knew." 

"  They  say  what  is  not  true." 

"  You  were  married  to  my  mother,  then  ?  " 

He  waited  too  long.  She  divined,  clear  though 
his  answer  was,  that  he  had  evaded,  or  was  quib 
bling  in  some  way. 

"  You  are  the  daughter  of  a  truly  married  hus 
band  and  wife,  as  truly  married  as  were  ever  any 
pair." 

And' though  she  knew  he  had  turned  her  question, 
she  saw  that  he  must  have  done  it  for  some  great 
reason  of  his  own,  and,  even  in  her  grief,  she 
would  not  pain  him  by  asking  another.  She  could 
feel  that  he  suffered  as  she  did,  and  he  seemed, 
moreover,  to  be  pitifully  and  strangely  frightened. 

When  Follet  came  riding  back  that  evening  he 
saw  that  Prudence  had  been  troubled.  The  candle 
light  showed  sadness  in  her  dark  eyes  and  in  the 
weighted  corners  of  her  mouth.  He  was  moved 
to  take  her  in  his  arms  and  soothe  her  as  he  had 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         439 

seen  mothers  do  with  sorry  little  children.  But 
instead  of  this  he  questioned  her  father  sharply 
when  their  corn-husk  mattresses  had  been  put  before 
either  side  of  the  fireplace  for  the  night.  The  little 
man  told  him  frankly  the  cause  of  her  grief.  There 
was  something  compelling  in  the  other's  way  of 
asking  questions.  When  the  thing  had  been  made 
plain,  Follett  looked  at  him  indignantly. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  you  let  her  go  on  thinking 
that  about  herself?" 

"  I  told  her  that  her  father  and  mother  had  been 
rightly  married." 

"  Didn't  she  think  you  were  fooling  her  in  some 
way?  " 

"I  —  I  can't  be  sure  —  " 

"  She  must  have,  or  she  wouldn't  be  so  down  in 
the  mouth  now.  Why  didn't  you  tell  her  the 
truth?" 

"If  only  —  if  only  she  could  go  on  thinking  I 
am  her  father  —  only  a  little  while — " 

Follett  spoke  with  the  ring  of  a  sudden  resolution 
in  his  voice. 

"  Now  I'll  tell  you  one  thing,  Mister  man,  some 
thing  has  got  to  be  done  by  some  one.  I  can't  do  it 
because  I'm  tied  by  a  promise,  and  so  I  reckon  you 
ought  to !  " 

"  Just  a  little  time !  Oh,  if  you  only  knew  how 
the  knives  cut  me  on  every  side  and  the  fires  burn  all 
through  me !  " 

"  Well,  think  of  the  knives  cutting  that  girl,  — 


440         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

making  her  believe  she  has  to  be  ashamed  of  her 
mother.  You  go  to  sleep  now,  and  try  to  lie  quiet ; 
there  ain't  anything  here  to  hurt  you.  But  I'll  tell 
you  one  thing,  —  you've  got  to  toe  the  mark." 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

The  Mission  Service  in  Box  Canon  is  Suspended 

FOLLETT  waited  with  a  new  eagerness  next 
day  for  their  walk  to  the  canon.  But  Pru 
dence,  looking  at  him  with  eyes  that  sorrow 
was  clouding,  said  that  she  could  not  go.  He 
felt  a  sharp  new  resentment  against  the  man  who 
was  letting  her  suffer  rather  than  betray  himself, 
and  he  again  resolved  that  this  man  must  be  made 
to  "toe  the  mark,"  to  "  take  his  needings;"  and 
that,  meantime,  the  deceived  girl  must  be  effectually 
reassured.  Something  must  be  said  to  take  away 
the  hurt  that  was  tugging  at  the  corners  of  her 
smile  to  draw  them  down.  To  this  end  he  pleaded 
with  her  not  to  deprive  him  of  the  day's  lesson, 
especially  as  the  time  was  now  at  hand  when  he 
must  leave.  And  so  ably  did  he  word  his  appeal  to 
her  sense  of  duty  that  at  last  she  consented  to  go. 

Once  in  the  canon,  however,  where  the  pines  had 
stored  away  the  cool  gloom  of  the  night  against 
the  day's  heat,  she  was  glad  she  had  come.  For, 
better  than  being  alone  with  that  strange,  new  hurt, 
was  it  to  have  by  her  side  this  friendly  young  man, 

441 


442         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

who  somehow  made  her  feel  as  if  it  were  right  and 
safe  to  lean  upon  him,  —  despite  his  unregenerate 
condition.  And  presently  there,  in  the  zeal  of  sav 
ing  his  soul,  she  was  almost  happy  again. 

Yet  he  seemed  to-day  to  be  impatient  under  the 
teaching,  and  more  than  once  she  felt  that  he  was 
on  the  point  of  interrupting  the  lesson  to  some  end 
of  his  own. 

He  seemed  insufficiently  impressed  even  with  the 
knowledge  of  astronomy  displayed  by  the  prophets 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  hearing,  without  a  quiver 
of  interest,  that  when  at  Joshua's  command  the  sun 
seemed  to  stand  still  upon  Gibeon  and  the  moon  in 
the  valley  of  Ajalon,  the  real  facts  were  that  the 
earth  merely  paused  in  its  revolutions  upon  its  own 
axis  and  about  the  sun.  Without  a  question  he 
thus  heard  Ptolemy  refuted  and  the  discoveries  of 
Copernicus  anticipated  two  thousand  years  before 
that  investigator  was  born.  He  was  indeed  deplor 
ably  inattentive.  She  suspected,  from  the  quick 
glances  she  gave  him,  that  he  had  no  understanding 
at  all  of  what  she  read.  Yet  in  this  she  did  him 
injustice,  for  now  she  came  to  the  passage,  "  They 
all  did  swear  unto  him  that  whoso  should  vary 
from  the  assistance  which  Akish  desired  should 
lose  his  head;  and  whoso  should  divulge  whatso 
ever  thing  Akish  should  make  known  unto  them 
should  lose  his  life."  This  time  he  sat  up. 

"  There  it  is  again  —  they  don't  mind  losing  their 
heads.  They  were  sure  the  fightingest  men  —  don't 
you  think  so  now  ?  " 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         443 

As  he  went  on  talking  she  laid  the  book  down 
and  leaned  back  against  the  trunk  of  the  big  pine 
under  which  they  sat.  He  seemed  to  be  saying 
something  that  he  had  been  revolving  in  his  mind 
while  she  read. 

"  I'd  hate  to  have  you  think  you  been  wasting 
your  time  on  me  this  summer,  but  I'm  afraid  I'm 
just  too  downright  unsanctified." 

"  Oh,  don't  say  that!  "    she  cried. 

"  But  I  have  to.  I  reckon  I'm  like  the  red-roan 
sorrel  Ed  Harris  got  for  a  pinto  from  old  man 
Beasley.  *  They's  two  bad  things  about  him,'  says 
the  old  man.  '  I'll  tell  you  one  now  and  the  other 
after  we  swap.'  '  All  right,'  says  Ed.  *  Well,  first, 
he's  hard  to  catch;  says  Beasley.  '  That  ain't  any 
thing,'  says  Ed,  — '  just  picket  him  or  hobble  him 
with  a  good  side-line.'  So  then  they  traded.  *  And 
the  other  thing,'  says  the  old  man,  dragging  up  his 
cinches  on  Ed's  pinto,  —  '  he  ain't  any  good  after 
you  get  him  caught.'  So  that's  like  me.  I've  been 
hard  to  teach  all  summer,  and  now  I'm  not  any 
good  after  you  get  me  taught." 

"  Oh,  you  are!   Don't  say  you're  not." 

"  I  couldn't  ever  join  your  Church  —  " 

Her  face  became  full  of  alarm. 

"  —  only  for  just  one  thing;  —  I  don't  care  very 
much  for  this  having  so  many  wives." 

She  was  relieved  at  once.  "If  that's  all  —  I 
don't  approve  of  it  myself.  You  wouldn't  have  to." 

"  Oh,  that's  what  you  say  nozv"  —  he  spoke  with 
an  air  of  shrewdness  and  suspicion,  —  "  but  when 


444         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

I  got  in  you'd  throw  up  my  duty  to  me  constant 
about  building  up  the  Kingdom.  Oh,  I  know  how 
it's  done!  I've  heard  your  preachers  talk  enough." 

"  But  it  isn't  necessary.  I  wouldn't  —  I  don't 
think  it  would  be  at  all  nice  of  you." 

He  looked  at  her  with  warm  sympathy.  "  You 
poor  ignorant  girl !  Not  to  know  your  own  religion ! 
I  read  in  that  book  there  about  this  marrying  busi 
ness  only  the  other  day.  Just  hand  me  that  one." 

She  handed  him  the  "  Book  of  Doctrine  and 
Covenants,"  from  which  she  had  occasionally 
taught  him  the  Lord's  word  as  revealed  to  Joseph 
Smith.  The  revelation  on  celestial  marriage  had 
never  been  among  her  selections.  He  turned  to  it 
now. 

"  Here,  right  in  the  very  first  of  it  —  "  and  she 
heard  with  a  sinking  heart,  —  "  '  Therefore  prepare 
thyself  to  receive  and  obey  the  instructions  which 
I  am  about  to  give  unto  you;  for  all  those  who 
have  this  law  revealed  unto  them  must  obey  the 
same;  for  behold!  I  reveal  unto  you  a  new  and 
everlasting  covenant ;  and  if  ye  abide  not  that  cove 
nant  then  are  ye  damned,  for  no  one  can  reject  this 
covenant  and  be  permitted  to  enter  into  my  glory/ 

"There  now!" 

"  I  never  read  it,"  she  faltered. 

"  And  don't  you  know  they  preach  in  the  taber 
nacle  that  anybody  who  rejects  polygamy  will  be 
damned  ?  " 

"  My  father  never  preached  that." 

"  Well,  he  knows  it  —  ask  him." 


THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD        445 

It  was  proving  to  be  a  hard  day  for  her. 

"  Of  course,"  he  continued,  "  a  new  member  com 
ing  into  the  Church  might  think  at  first  he  could  get 
along  without  so  many  wives.  He  might  say,  '  Well, 
now,  I'll  draw  a  line  in  this  marrying  business.  I'll 
never  take  more  than  two  or  three  wives  or  maybe 
four/  He  might  even  be  so  taken  up  with  one  young 
lady  that  he'd  say,  *  I  won't  even  marry  a  second 
wife  —  not  for  some  time  yet,  that  is  —  not  for  two 
or  three  years,  till  she  begins  to  get  kind  of  house- 
worn.'  But  then  after  he's  taken  his  second,  the 
others  would  come  easy.  Say  he  marries,  first  time, 
a  tall,  slim,  dark  girl,"  —  he  looked  at  her  musingly 
while  she  gazed  intently  into  the  stream  in  front 
of  them. 

"  —  and  then  say  he  meets  a  little  chit  of  a  thing, 
kind  of  heavy-set  like,  with  this  light  yellow  hair 
and  pretty  light  blue  eyes,  that  he  saw  one  Sunday 
at  church  —  " 

Her  dark  face  was  flushing  now  in  pained  wonder. 

"  —  why  then  it's  so  easy  to  keep  on  and  marry 
others,  with  the  preachers  all  preaching  it  from  the 
pulpit." 

"  But  you  wouldn't  have  to." 

"  No,  you  wouldn't  have  to  marry  any  one  after 
the  second  —  after  this  little  blonde  —  but  you'd 
have  to  marry  her  because  it  says  here  that  you  'shall 
abide  the  law  or  ye  shall  be  damned,  saith  the  Lord 
God.'  ' 

He  pulled  himself  along  the  ground  closer  to  her, 


446         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

and  went  on  again  in  what  seemed  to  be  an  extremity 
of  doubt. 

"  Now  I  don't  want  to  be  lost,  and  yet  I  don't  want 
to  have  a  whole  lot  of  wives  like  Brigham  or  that 
old  coot  we  see  so  often  on  the  road.  So  what  am  I 
going  to  do  ?  I  might  think  I'd  get  along  with  three 
or  four,  but  you  never  can  tell  what  religion  will  do 
to  a  man  when  he  really  gets  it." 

He  reached  for  her  small  brown  hand  that  still 
held  the  Book  of  Mormon  open  on  her  lap,  and  took 
it  in  both  his  own.  He  went  on,  appealingly : 

"  Now  you  try  to  tell  me  right  —  like  as  if  I  was 
your  own  brother  —  tell  me  as  a  sister.  Try  to  put 
yourself  in  the  place  of  the  girl  I'd  marry  first  —  no, 
don't;  it  seems  more  like  your  sister  if  I  hold  it  this 
way  —  and  try  to  think  how  she'd  feel  when  I 
brought  home  my  second.  Would  that  be  doing 
square  by  her?  Wouldn't  it  sort  of  get  her  on  the 
bark?  But  if  I  join  your  Church  and  don't  do  that, 
I  might  as  well  be  one  of  those  low-down  Freewill 
Baptists  or  Episcopals.  Come  now,  tell  me  true,  let 
ting  on  that  you're  my  sister." 

She  had  not  looked  at  him  since  he  began,  nor  did 
she  now. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know  —  I  don't  know  —  it's  all  so 
mixed !  I  thought  you  could  be  saved  without  that." 

"  There's  the  word  of  God  against  me." 

"  I  wouldn't  want  you  to  marry  that  way,  —  if  I 
were  your  sister." 

"  That's  right  now,  try  to  feel  like  a  sister.    You 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         447 

wouldn't  want  me  to  have  as  many  wives  as  those 
old  codgers  down  there  below,  would  you  ?  " 

"  No  —  I'm  sure  you  shouldn't  have  but  one.  Oh, 
you  couldn't  marry  more  than  one,  could  you  ?  "  She 
turned  her  eyes  for  the  first  time  upon  him,  and  he 
saw  that  some  inward  warmth  seemed  to  be  melting 
them. 

"  Well,  I'd  hate  to  disappoint  you  if  you  were  my 
sister,  but  there's  the  word  of  the  Lord  —  " 

"  Oh,  but  could  you  anyway,  even  if  you  didn't 
have  a  sister,  and  there  was  no  one  but  her  to  think 
of?" 

He  appeared  to  debate  with  himself  cautiously. 

"  Well,  now,  I  must  say  your  teaching  has  taken 
a  powerful  hold  on  me  this  summer  —  "  he  reached 
under  her  arm  and  caught  her  other  hand.  "  You've 
been  like  a  sister  to  me  and  made  me  think  about 
these  things  pretty  deep  and  serious.  I  don't  know 
if  I  could  get  what  you've  taught  me  out  of  my 
mind  or  not." 

"  But  how  could  you  ever  marry  another  wife?  " 

"  Well,  a  man  don't  like  to  think  he's  going  to 
the  bad  place  when  he  dies,  all  on  account  of  not 
marrying  a  few  more  times.  It  sort  of  takes  the 
ambition  all  out  of  him." 

"Oh,  it  couldn't  be  right!" 

"  Well  now,  I'll  do  as  you  say.  Do  I  forget  all 
these  things  you've  been  teaching  me,  and  settle 
down  with  one  wife,  —  or  do  I  come  into  the 
Kingdom  and  lash  the  cinches  of  my  glory  good 
and  plenty  by  marrying  whenever  I  get  time  to 


448         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

build  a  new  end  on  the  house,  like  old  man  Wright 
does?" 

She  was  silent. 

"  Like  a  sister  would  tell  a  brother,"  he  urged, 
with  a  tighter  pressure  of  her  two  hands.  But  this 
seemed  to  recall  another  trouble  to  her  mind. 

"I  —  I'm  not  fit  to  be  your  sister  —  don't  talk 
of  it  —  you  don't  know  —  "  Her  voice  broke,  and 
he  had  to  release  her  hand.  Whereupon  he  put 
his  own  back  up  against  the  pine-tree,  reached  his 
arm  about  her,  and  had  her  head  upon  his  shoulder. 

"  There,  there  now !  " 

"  But  you  don't  know." 

"  Well,  I  do  know  —  so  just  you  straighten  out 
that  face.  I  do  know,  I  tell  you.  Now  don't  cry 
and  I'll  fix  it  all  right,  I  promise  you." 

"  But  you  don't  even  know  what  the  trouble  is." 

"I  do  —  it's  about  your  father  and  mother  — 
when  they  were  married." 

"  How  did  you  know  ?  " 

"  I  can't  tell  you  now,  but  I  will  soon.  Look 
here,  you  can  believe  what  I  tell  you,  can't  you?" 

"  Yes,  I  can  do  that." 

"  Well,  then,  you  listen.  Your  father  and  mother 
were  married  in  the  right  way,  and  there  wasn't 
a  single  bit  of  crookedness  about  it.  I  wouldn't  tell 
you  if  I  didn't  know  and  couldn't  prove  it  to  you 
in  a  little  while.  Say,  there's  one  of  our  wagon- 
trains  coming  along  here  toward  Salt  Lake  next 
Monday.  It's  coming  out  of  its  way  on  purpose 
to  pick  me  up.  I'll  promise  to  have  it  proved  to 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         449 

you  by  that  time.  Now,  is  that  fair?  Can  you 
believe  me?  " 

She  looked  up  at  him,  her  face  bright  again. 

"  Oh,  I  do  believe  you !  You  don't  know  how 
glad  you  make  me.  It  was  an  awful  thing  —  oh, 
you  are  a  dear  "  —  and  full  upon  his  lips  she  kissed 
the  astounded  young  man,  holding  him  fast  with 
an  arm  about  his  neck.  "  You've  made  me  all  over 
new  —  I  was  feeling  so  wretched  —  and  of  course 
I  can't  see  how  you  know  anything  about  it,  but  I 
know  you  are  telling  the  truth."  Again  she  kissed 
him  with  the  utmost  cordiality.  Then  she  stood 
up  to  arrange  her  hair,  her  face  full  of  the  joy  of 
this  assurance.  The  young  man  saw  that  she  had 
forgotten  both  him  and  his  religious  perplexities, 
and  he  did  not  wish  her  to  be  entirely  divested  of 
concern  for  him  at  this  moment. 

"But  how  about  me?  Here  I  am,  lost  if  I  do 
and  lost  if  I  don't.  You  better  sit  down  here  again 
and  see  if  there  isn't  some  way  I  can  get  that  crown 
of  glory." 

She  sat  down  by  him,  instantly  sobered  from 
her  own  joy,  and  calmly  gave  him  a  hand  to  hold. 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you,"  she  said,  frankly.  "  You 
wait  awhile.  Don't  do  anything  right  away.  I'll 
have  to  ask  father."  And  then  as  he  reached  over 
to  pick  up  the  Book  of  Mormon,  —  "  No,  let's  not 
read  any  more  to-day.  Let's  sit  a  little  while  and 
only  think  about  things."  She  was  so  free  from 
embarrassment  that  he  began  to  doubt  if  he  had 
been  so  very  deeply  clever,  after  all,  in  suggesting 


450         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

the  relationship  between  them.  But  after  she  had 
mused  awhile,  she  seemed  to  perceive  for  the  first 
time  that  he  was  very  earnestly  holding  both  of 
her  hands.  She  blushed,  and  suddenly  withdrew 
them.  Whereat  he  was  more  pleased  than  when  she 
had  passively  let  them  lie.  He  approached  the 
matter  of  salvation  for  himself  once  more. 

"  Of  course  I  can  wait  awhile  for  you  to  find 
out  the  rights  of  this  thing,  but  I'm  afraid  I  can't 
be  baptised  even  if  you  tell  me  to  be  —  even  if  you 
want  me  to  obey  the  Lord  and  marry  some  pretty 
little  light-complected,  yellow-haired  thing  after 
wards  —  after  I'd  married  my  first  wife.  Fact  is, 
I  don't  believe  I  could.  Probably  I'd  care  so  much 
for  the  first  one  that  I'd  have  blinders  on  for  all 
the  other  women  in  the  world.  She'd  have  me  tied 
down  with  the  red  ribbon  in  her  hair  "  —  he  touched 
the  red  ribbon  in  her  own,  by  way  of  illustration  — 
"  just  like  I  can  tie  the  biggest  steer  you  ever  saw 
with  that  little  silk  rag  of  mine  —  hold  him,  two 
hind  legs  and  one  fore,  so  he  can't  budge  an  inch. 
I'd  just  like  to  see  some  little,  short,  kind  of  plump, 
pretty  yellow-haired  thing  come  between  us." 

For  an  instant,  she  looked  such  warm,  almost 
indignant  approval  that  he  believed  she  was  about 
to  express  an  opinion  of  her  own  in  the  matter,  but 
she  stayed  silent,  looking  away  instead  with  a  little 
movement  of  having  swallowed  something. 

"  And  you,  too,  if  you  were  my  sister,  do  you 
think  I'd  want  you  married  to  a  man  who'd  begin 
to  look  around  for  some  one  else  as  soon  as  he  got 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         451 

you  ?  No,  sir  —  you  deserve  some  decent  young 
fellow  who'd  love  you  all  to  pieces  day  in  and  day 
out  and  never  so  much  as  look  at  this  little  yel 
low-haired  girl  —  even  if  she  was  almost  as  pretty 
as  you." 

But  she  was  not  to  be  led  into  rendering  any 
hasty  decision  which  might  affect  his  eternal  salva 
tion.  Moreover,  she  was  embarrassed  and  disturbed. 

"  We  must  go,"  she  said,  rising  before  he  could 
help  her.  When  they  had  picked  their  way  down 
to  the  mouth  of  the  canon,  he  walking  behind  her, 
she  turned  back  and  said,  "  Of  course  you  could 
marry  that  little  yellow-haired  girl  with  the  blue 
eyes  first,  the  one  you're  thinking  so  much  about  — 
the  little  short,  fat  thing  with  a  doll-baby  face  —  " 

But  he  only  answered,  "  Oh,  well,  if  you  get  me 
into  your  Church  it  wouldn't  make  a  bit  of  differ 
ence  whether  I  took  her  first  or  second." 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

A    Revelation    Concerning    the    True    Order    of 
Marriage 

WHILE  matters  of  theology  and  consanguin 
ity  were  being  debated  in  Box  Canon,  the 
little  bent  man  down  in  the  first  house  to 
the  left,  in  his  struggle  to  free  himself,  was  tighten 
ing  the  meshes  of  his  fate  about  him.  In  his  harried 
mind  he  had  formed  one  great  resolution.  He  be 
lieved  that  a  revelation  had  come  to  him.  It  seemed 
to  press  upon  him  as  the  culmination  of  all  the  days 
of  his  distress.  He  could  see  now  that  he  had  felt 
it  years  before,  when  he  first  met  the  wife  of  Elder 
Tench,  the  gaunt,  gray  woman,  toiling  along  the 
dusty  road ;  and  again  when  he  had  found  the  im 
becile  boy  turning  upon  his  tormentors.  A  hundred 
times  it  had  quickened  within  him.  And  it  had 
gained  in  force  steadily,  until  to-day,  when  it  was 
overwhelming  him.  Now  that  his  flesh  was  wasted, 
it  seemed  that  his  spirit  could  see  far. 

His  great  discovery  was  that  the  revelation  upon 
celestial  marriage  given  to  Joseph  Smith  had  been 

452 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         453 

"  from  beneath,"  —  a  trick  of  Satan  to  corrupt  them. 
Not  only  did  it  flatly  contradict  earlier  revelations, 
but  the  very  Book  of  Mormon  itself  declared  again 
and  again  that  polygamy  was  wickedness.  Joseph 
had  been  duped  by  the  powers  of  darkness,  and  all 
Israel  had  sinned  in  consequence.  Upon  the  golden 
plates  delivered  to  him,  concerning  the  divine  source 
of  which  there  could  be  no  doubt,  this  order  of 
marriage  had  been  repeatedly  condemned  and  for 
bidden.  But  as  to  the  revelation  which  sanctioned 
it  there  could  rightly  be  doubt ;  for  had  not  Joseph 
himself  once  warned  them  that  "  some  revelations 
are  from  God,  some  from  men,  and  some  from  the 
Devil."  Either  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  not  in 
spired,  or  the  revelation  was  not  from  God,  since 
they  were  fatally  in  opposition. 

It  came  to  him  with  the  effect  of  a  blinding  light, 
yet  seemed  to  endow  him  with  a  new  vigour,  so 
that  he  felt  strong  and  eager  to  be  up,  to  spread  his 
truth  abroad.  Some  remnant  of  that  old  fire  of 
inspiration  flamed  up  within  him  as  he  lay  on  the 
hard  bed  in  his  little  room,  with  the  summer  scents 
floating  in  and  the  out-of-doors  sounds, — a  woman's 
voice  calling  a  child  afar  off,  the  lowing  of  cattle, 
the  rhythmic  whetting  of  a  scythe-blade,  the  echoing 
strokes  of  an  axe,  the  mellow  fluting  of  a  robin,  — 
all  coming  to  him  a  little  muted,  as  if  he  were  no 
longer  in  the  world. 

He  raised  upon  his  elbow,  glowing  with  the  flush 
of  old  memories  when  his  heart  had  been  perfect 
with  the  Lord;  when  he  had  wrought  miracles  in 


454         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

the  face  of  the  people;  when  he  had  besought 
Heaven  fearlessly  for  signs  of  its  favour;  when  he 
had  dreamed  of  being  a  pillar  of  fire  to  his  people 
in  their  march  across  the  desert,  and  another  Lion 
of  the  Lord  to  fight  their  just  battles.  The  little 
bent  man  of  sorrows  had  again  become  the  Lute 
of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

He  knew  it  must  be  a  true  revelation.  And, 
while  he  might  not  now  have  strength  to  preach 
it  as  it  should  be  preached,  there  were  other  mighty 
men  to  spread  its  tidings.  Even  his  simple  an 
nouncement  of  it  must  work  a  revolution.  Others 
would  see  it  when  he  had  once  declared  it.  Others 
would  spread  it  with  power  until  the  Saints  were 
again  become  a  purified  people.  But  he  would  have 
been  the  prophet,  seer,  and  revelator,  to  whom  the 
truth  was  given,  and  so  his  suffering  would  not 
have  been  in  vain;  perhaps  that  suffering  had  been 
ordained  to  the  end  that  his  vision  should  be  cleared 
for  this  truth. 

He  remembered  the  day  was  Saturday,  and  he 
began  at  once  to  word  the  phrases  in  which  he 
would  tell  his  revelation  on  the  morrow.  He  knew 
that  this  must  be  done  tactfully,  in  spite  of  its  divine 
source.  It  would  be  a  momentous  thing  to  the 
people  and  to  the  priesthood.  It  was  conceivable, 
indeed,  that  members  of  the  latter  might  dispute 
it  and  argue  with  him,  or  even  denounce  him  for 
a  heretic.  But  only  at  first;  the  thing  was  too 
simply  true  to  be  long  questioned.  In  any  event, 
his  duty  was  plain ;  with  righteousness  as  the  girdle 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         455 

of  his  loins  he  must  go  forth  on  the  morrow  and 
magnify  his  office  in  the  sight  of  Heaven. 

When  the  decision  had  been  taken  he  lay  in  an 
ecstasy  of  anticipation,  feeling  new  pulses  in  all 
his  frame  and  the  blood  warm  in  his  face.  It  would 
mean  a  new  dawn  for  Israel.  There  would,  how 
ever,  be  a  vexing  difficulty  in  the  matter  of  the 
present  wives  of  the  Saints.  The  song  of  Lorena 
came  in  to  him  now :  — 


"  I  was  riding  out  this  morning 

With  my  cousin  by  my  side ; 
She  was  telling  her  intentions 
For  to  soon  become  a  bride." 


The  accent  fell  upon  the  first  and  third  syllables 
with  an  upward  surge  of  melody  that  seemed  to 
make  the  house  vibrate.  He  thought  perhaps  some 
of  the  Saints  would  find  it  well  to  put  away  all 
but  the  one  rightful  wife,  making  due  provision, 
of  course,  for  their  support.  Lorena's  never-ending 
ballad  came  like  the  horns  that  blew  before  the  walls 
of  Jericho,  bringing  down  the  ramparts  of  his  old 
belief.  Some  of  the  Saints  would  doubtless  put  away 
the  false  wives  as  a  penance.  He  might  even  bring 
himself  to  do  it,  since,  in  the  light  of  his  wondrous 
new  revelation,  it  would  be  obeying  the  Lord's 
will. 

When  Prudence  came  softly  in  to  him,  like  a 
cool  little  breath  of  fragrance  from  the  canon,  he 
smiled  up  to  her  with  a  fulness  of  delight  she  had 
never  seen  in  his  face  before. 


456         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

There  was  a  new  light  in  her  own  eyes,  new  deci 
sions  presaged,  a  new  desire  imperfectly  suppressed. 
He  stroked  her  hand  as  she  sat  beside  him  on  the 
bed,  wondering  if  she  had  at  last  learned  her  own 
secret.  But  she  became  grave,  and  was  diverted 
from  her  own  affairs  when  she  observed  him  more 
closely. 

"  Why,  you're  sick  —  you're  burning  up  with 
fever!  You  must  be  covered  up  at  once  and  have 
sage  tea." 

He  laughed  at  her,  a  free,  full  laugh,  such  as 
she  had  never  heard  from  him  in  all  the  years. 

"  It's  no  fever,  child.  It's  new  life  come  to  me. 
I'm  strong  again.  My  face  burns,  but  it  must  be 
the  fire  of  health.  I  have  a  work  given  to  me  — 
God  has  not  wholly  put  me  aside." 

"  But  I  believe  you  are  sick.  Your  hands  are 
so  hot,  and  your  eyes  look  so  unnatural.  You  must 
let  me  —  " 

"  Now,  now  —  haven't  I  learned  to  tell  sickness 
from  the  glow  of  a  holy  purpose?  " 

"  You're  sure  you  are  well  ?  " 

"  Better  than  for  fifteen  years." 

She  let  herself  be  convinced  for  the  moment. 

"  Then  please  tell  me  something.  Must  a  man 
who  comes  into  our  faith,  if  he  is  baptised  rightly, 
also  marry  more  than  one  wife  if  he  is  to  be  saved? 
Can't  he  be  sure  of  his  glory  with  one  if  he  loves 
her  —  oh,  very,  very  much  ?  " 

He  was  moved  at  first  to  answer  her  out  of  the 
fulness  of  his  heart,  telling  her  of  the  wonderful 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         457 

new  revelation.  But  there  came  the  impulse  to 
guard  it  jealously  in  his  own  breast  a  little  longer, 
to  glory  secretly  in  it;  half-fearful,  too,  that  some 
virtue  would  go  out  of  it  should  he  impart  it  too 
soon  to  another. 

"  Why  do  you  want  to  know?  " 

"  Ruel  Follett  would  join  our  Church  if  he  didn't 
have  to  marry  more  than  one  wife.  If  he  loved  some 
one  very  much,  I'm  afraid  he  would  find  it  hard  to 
marry  another  girl  —  oh,  he  simply  couldn't  —  no 
matter  how  pretty  she  was.  He  never  could  do  it." 
Here  she  pulled  one  of  the  scarlet  ribbons  from  her 
broad  hat.  She  gave  a  little  exclamation  of  relief 
as  if  she  had  really  meant  to  detach  it. 

"  Tell  him  to  wait  a  little." 

"  That's  what  I  did  tell  him,  but  it  seems  hardly 
right  to  let  him  join  believing  that  is  necessary. 
I  think  some  one  ought  to  find  out  that  one  wife 
is  all  God  wants  a  man  ever  to  have,  and  to  tell 
Mr.  Follett  so  very  plainly.  His  mind  is  really 
open  to  truth,  and  you  know  he  might  do  some 
thing  reckless  —  he  shouldn't  be  made  to  wait  too 
long." 

"  Tell  him  to  wait  till  to-morrow.  I  shall  speak 
of  this  in  meeting  then.  It  will  be  all  right  —  all 
right,  dear.  Everything  will  be  all  right !  " 

"  Only  I  am  sure  you  are  sick  in  spite  of  what 
you  say.  I  know  how  to  prove  it,  too  —  can  you 
eat?" 

"  I'm  too  busy  thinking  of  great  things  to  be 
hungry." 


458         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

"  There  —  you  would  be  hungry  if  you  were 
well." 

"  I  can't  tell  you  how  well  I  am,  and  as  for  food 
—  our  Elder  Brother  has  been  feeding  me  all  day 
with  the  bread  of  truth.  Such  wonderful  new  things 
the  Lord  has  shown  me!  " 

"  But  you  must  not  get  up.  Lie  still  and  we  will 
nurse  you.'' 

He  refused  the  food  she  brought  him,  and  refused 
Lorena's  sage  tea.  He  was  not  to  be  cajoled  into 
treating  as  sickness  the  first  real  happiness  he  had 
felt  for  years.  He  lay  still  until  his  little  room 
grew  shadowy  in  the  dusk,  filled  with  a  great  re 
viving  hope  that  the  Lord  had  raised  a  new  prophet 
to  lead  Israel  out  of  bondage. 

As  the  night  fell,  however,  the  shadows  of  the 
room  began  to  trouble  him  as  of  old,  and  he  found 
himself  growing  hotter  and  hotter  until  he  burned 
and  gasped  and  the  room  seemed  about  to  stifle  him. 
He  arose  from  the  bed,  wondering  that  his  feet 
should  be  so  heavy  and  clumsy,  and  his  knees  so 
weak,  when  he  felt  otherwise  so  strong.  His  head, 
too,  felt  large,  and  there  rang  in  his  ears  a  singing 
of  incessant  quick  beats.  He  made  his  way  to  the 
door,  where  he  heard  the  voices  of  Prudence  and 
Follett.  It  was  good  to  feel  the  cool  night  air  upon 
his  hot  face,  and  he  reassured  Prudence,  who  chided 
him  for  leaving  his  bed. 

"  When  you  hear  me  discourse  to-morrow  you 
will  see  how  wrong  you  were  about  my  being  sick," 
he  said.  But  she  saw  that  he  supported  himself 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         459 

carefully  from  the  doorway  along  the  wall  to  the 
near-by  chair,  and  that  he  sank  into  it  with  every 
sign  of  weakness.  His  eyes,  however,  were  aglow 
with  his  secret,  and  he  sat  nodding  his  head  over 
it  in  a  lively  way.  "  Brigham  was  right,"  he  said, 
"  when  he  declared  that  any  of  us  might  receive 
revelations  from  on  high ;  even  the  least  of  us  — 
only  we  are  apt  to  be  deaf  to  the  whispered  words 
until  the  Lord  has  scourged  us.  I  have  been  deaf 
a  long  time,  but  my  ears  are  at  last  unstopped  — 
who  is  it  coming,  dear?  " 

A  tall  figure,  vague  in  the  dusk,  was  walking 
briskly  up  the  path  that  led  in  from  the  road.  It 
proved  to  be  the  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains,  fresh 
ened  by  the  look  of  rectitude  that  the  razor  gave 
to  his  face  each  Saturday  night. 

"  Evening,  Brother  Rae  —  evening,  you  young 
folks.  Thank  you,  I  will  take  a  chair.  You  feeling 
a  bit  more  able  than  usual,  Brother  Rae?  " 

"  Much  better,  Brother  Seth.  I  shall  be  at  meet 
ing  to-morrow." 

"  Glad  to  hear  it,  that's  right  good  —  you  ain't 
been  out  for  so  long.  And  we  want  to  have  a  rous 
ing  time,  too." 

"  Only  we're  afraid  he  has  a  fever  instead  of 
being  so  well,"  said  Prudence.  "  He  hasn't  eaten 
a  thing  all  day." 

"  Well,  he  never  did  overeat  himself,  that  I  knew 
of,"  said  the  Bishop.  "  Not  eating  ain't  any  sign 
with  him.  Now  it  would  be  with  me.  I  never 
believed  in  fasting  the  flesh.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord 


460         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

ain't  ever  so  close  to  me  as  after  I've  had  a  good 
meal  of  victuals,  —  meat  and  potatoes  and  plenty 
of  good  sop  and  a  couple  of  pieces  of  pie.  Then  I 
can  unbutton  my  vest  and  jest  set  and  set  and  hear 
the  promptings  of  the  Lord  God  of  Hosts.  I  know 
some  men  ain't  that  way,  but  then's  the  time  when 
I  beautify  my  inheritance  in  Zion  the  purtiest.  And 
I'm  mighty  glad  Brother  Joel  can  turn  out  to-mor 
row.  Of  course  you  heard  the  news  ?  " 

"  What  news,  Brother  Seth?  " 

"  Brother  Brigham  gets  here  at  eleven  o'clock 
from  New  Harmony." 

"  Brother  Brigham  coming?  " 

"  We're  getting  the  bowery  ready  down  in  the 
square  to-night  so's  to  have  services  out  of  doors." 

"He's  coming  to-morrow?"  The  words  came 
from  both  Prudence  and  her  father. 

"  Of  course  he's  coming.  Ben  Hadley  brought 
word  over.  They'll  have  a  turkey  dinner  at  Beil 
Wardle's  house  and  then  services  at  two." 

The  flushed  little  man  with  the  revelation  felt 
himself  grow  suddenly  cold.  He  had  thought  it 
would  be  easy  to  launch  his  new  truth  in  Amalon 
and  let  the  news  be  carried  to  Brigham.  To  get 
up  in  the  very  presence  of  him,  in  the  full  gaze  of 
those  cold  blue  eyes,  was  another  matter. 

"  But  it's  early  for  him.  He  doesn't  usually  come 
until  after  Conference,  after  it's  got  cooler." 

The  Bishop  took  on  the  air  of  a  man  who  does 
not  care  to  tell  quite  all  that  he  knows. 

"  Yes ;   I  suspicion  some  one's  been  sending  tales 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         461 

to  him  about  a  certain  young  woman's  carryings  on 
down  here." 

He  looked  sharply  at  Prudence,  who  looked  at  the 
ground  and  felt  grateful  for  the  dusk.  Follett 
looked  hard  at  them  both  and  was  plainly  interested. 
The  Bishop  spoke  again. 

"  I  ain't  got  no  license  to  say  so,  but  having  done 
that  young  woman  proud  by  engaging  himself  to 
marry  her,  he  might  'a'  got  annoyed  if  any  one 
had  'a'  told  him  she  was  being  waited  on  by  a  hand 
some  young  Gentile,  gallivantin'  off  to  canons  day 
after  day  —  holding  hands,  too,  more  than  once. 
Oh,  I  ain't  saying  anything.  Young  blood  is  young 
blood;  mine  ain't  always  been  old,  and  I  never 
blamed  the  young,  but,  of  course,  the  needs  of  the 
Kingdom  is  a  different  matter.  Well,  I'll  have  to 
be  getting  along  now.  We're  going  to  put  up  some 
of  the  people  at  our  house,  and  I've  got  to  fix  to  bed 
mother  down  in  the  wagon-box  again,  I  reckon.  I'll 
say  you'll  be  with  us  to-morrow,  then,  Brother 
Joel?" 

The  little  bent  man's  voice  had  lost  much  of  its 
life. 

"  Yes,  Brother  Seth,  if  I'm  able." 

"  Well,  I  hope  you  are."  He  arose  and  looked 
at  the  sky.  "  Looks  as  if  we  might  have  some 
falling  weather.  They  say  it's  been  moisting  quite 
a  bit  up  Cedar  way.  Well,  —  good  night,  all !  " 

When  he  was  gone  the  matter  of  his  visit  was 
not  referred  to.  With  some  constraint  they  talked 
a  little  while  of  other  things.  But  as  soon  as  the 


462         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

two  men  were  alone  for  the  night,  Follett  turned 
to  him,  almost  fiercely. 

"  Say,  now,  what  did  that  old  goat-whiskered 
loon  mean  by  his  hintings  about  Prudence?" 

The  little  man  was  troubled. 

"  Well,  the  fact  is,  Brigham  has  meant  to  marry 
her." 

"  You  don't  mean  you'd  have  let  him  ?  Say, 
I'd  hate  to  feel  sorry  for  holding  off  on  you  like 
I  have!" 

"  No,  no,  don't  think  that  of  me." 

"  Well,  what  were  you  going  to  do  ?  " 

"  I  hardly  knew." 

"  You  better  find  out." 

"  I  know  it  —  I  did  find  out,  to-day.  I  know, 
and  it  will  be  all  right.  Trust  me.  I  lost  my  faith 
for  a  moment  just  now  when  I  heard  Brother  Brig- 
ham  was  coming  to-morrow;  but  I  see  how  it 
is,  —  the  Lord  has  wished  to  prove  me.  Now  there 
is  all  the  more  reason  why  I  should  not  flinch.  You 
will  see  that  I  shall  make  it  all  right  to-morrow." 

"  Well,  the  time's  about  up.  I've  been  here  over 
two  months  now,  just  because  you  were  so  kind 
of  helpless.  And  one  of  our  wagon-trains  will  be 
along  here  about  next  Monday.  Say,  she  wouldn't 
ever  have  married  him,  would  she?  " 

"  No,  she  refused  at  once ;  she  refused  to  con 
sider  it  at  all." 

He  was  burning  again  with  his  fever,  and  there 
was  something  in  his  eagerness  that  seemed  to  over 
come  Follett's  indignation. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         463 

"  Well,  let  it  go  till  to-morrow,  then.  And  you 
try  to  get  some  rest  now.  That's  what  I'm  going 
to  do." 

But  the  little  bent  man,  flushed  though  he  was,  felt 
cold  from  the  night  air,  and,  piling  more  logs  on 
the  fire,  he  drew  his  chair  close  in  front  of  it. 

As  often  as  Follett  wakened  through  the  night 
he  saw  him  sitting  there,  sometimes  reading  what 
looked  like  a  little  old  Bible,  sometimes  speaking 
aloud  as  if  seeking  to  memorise  a  passage. 

The  last  Follett  remembered  to  have  heard  was 
something  he  seemed  to  be  reading  from  the  little 
book,  —  "  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd ;  I  shall  not 
want.  He  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pas 
tures  ;  He  leadeth  me  beside  the  still  waters." 

He  fell  asleep  again  with  a  feeling  of  pity  for  the 
little  man. 


CHAPTER   XL. 

A  Procession,  a  Pursuit,  and  a  Capture 

FOLLETT  awoke  to  find  himself  superfluous. 
The  women  were  rushing  excitedly  through 
their  housework  in  order  to  be  at  hand  when 
the  procession  of  Brigham  and  his  suite  should 
march  in.  Of  Joel  Rae  he  caught  but  a  glimpse 
through  the  door  of  his  little  room,  the  face  flushed 
that  had  a  long  time  been  sallow  and  bloodless. 
When  the  door  had  closed  he  could  hear  the  voice, 
now  strong  again.  He  seemed  to  be,  as  during  the 
night,  rehearsing  something  he  meant  to  say.  And 
later  it  was  plain  that  he  prayed,  though  he  heard 
nothing  more  than  the  high  pleading  of  the  voice. 

Follett  would  not  have  minded  these  things,  but 
Prudence  was  gone  and  no  one  could  tell  him  where. 
From  Christina  of  the  rock-bound  speech  he  blasted 
the  items  that  she  was  wearing  "  a  dress  all  new  " 
and  "  a  red-ribbon  hat."  Lorena,  too,  with  all  her 
willingness  of  speech,  knew  nothing-  definite. 

"  All  I  know  is  she  fixed  herself  up  like  she  was 
going  to  an  evening  ball  or  party.  I  wish  to  the 
lands  I'd  kep'  my  complexion  the  way  she  does  hern. 

464 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         465 

And  she  had  on  her  best  lawn  that  her  pa  got  her  in 
Salt  Lake,  the  one  with  the  little  blue  figures  in  it. 
She  does  look  sweeter  than  honey  on  a  rag  in  a  store 
dress,  and  that  Leghorn  hat  with  the  red  bow, 
though  what  she  wanted  to  start  so  early  for  I  don't 
know.  The  procession  can't  be  along  yet,  but  she 
might  have  gone  down  to  march  with  them,  or  to 
help  decorate  the  bowery.  I  know  when  I  was  her 
age  I  was  always  a  great  hand  for  getting  ready 
long  before  any  one  come,  when  my  mother  was 
making  a  company  for  me,  putting  up  my  waterfall 
and  curling  my  beau-catchers  on  a  hot  pipe-stem. 
But,  land!  I  ain't  no  time  to  talk  with  you." 

Down  at  the  main  road  he  hesitated.  To  the  right 
he  could  see  where  the  green  mouth  of  the  canon 
invited ;  but  to  the  left  lay  the  village  where  Pru 
dence  doubtless  was.  He  would  find  her  and  bring 
her  away.  For  Follett  had  determined  to  toe  the 
mark  himself  now. 

In  the  one  street  of  Amalon  there  was  the  usual 
Sabbath  hush ;  but  above  this  was  an  air  of  dignified 
festivity.  The  village  in  its  Sunday  best  homespun, 
with  here  and  there  a  suit  of  store  goods,  was  hold 
ing  its  breath.  In  the  bowery  a  few  workers,  under 
the  supervision  of  Bishop  Wright,  were  adding  the 
last  touches  of  decoration.  It  was  a  spot  of  pleasant 
green  in  the  dusty  square  —  a  roof  of  spruce  boughs, 
with  evergreens  and  flowers  garnishing  the  posts, 
and  a  bank  of  flowers  and  fruit  back  of  the  speaker's 
stand. 

But  Prudence  was  not  there,  and  he  wondered 


466         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

with  dismay  if  she  had  joined  the  rest  of  the  village 
and  gone  out  to  meet  the  Prophet.  He  had  seen  the 
last  of  them  going  along  the  dusty  road  to  the  north, 
men  and  women  and  little  children,  hot,  excited,  and 
eager.  It  did  not  seem  like  her  to  be  among  them, 
and  yet  except  for  those  before  him  working  about 
the  bowery,  and  a  few  mothers  with  children  in 
arms,  the  town  was  apparently  deserted. 

But  even  as  he  waited,  he  heard  the  winding  alarm 
of  a  bugle,  and  saw  a  scurrying  of  backs  in  the  dusty 
haze  far  up  the  road.  The  Wild  Ram  of  the  Moun 
tains  gave  a  few  hurried  commands  for  the  very 
final  touches,  called  off  his  force  from  the  now 
completed  bowery,  and  a  solitary  Gentile  was  for 
the  moment  left  to  greet  the  oncoming  procession. 

Presently,  however,  from  the  dark  interiors  of  the 
log  houses  came  the  mothers  with  babies,  a  few  aged 
sires  too  feeble  for  the  march,  and  such  of  the  re 
maining  housewives  as  could  leave  for  a  little  time 
the  dinners  they  were  cooking.  They  made  but  a 
thin  line  along  the  little  street,  and  Follett  saw  at 
once  that  Prudence  was  not  among  them.  He  must 
wait  to  see  if  she  marched  in  the  approaching  pro 
cession. 

Already  the  mounted  escort  was  coming  into  view, 
four  abreast,  captained  by  Elder  Wardle,  who,  with 
a  sash  of  red  and  gold  slanted  across  his  breast,  was 
riding  nervously,  as  if  his  seat  could  be  kept  only 
by  the  most  skillful  horsemanship,  a  white  mule  that 
he  was  known  to  treat  with  fearless  disrespect  on 
days  that  were  not  great.  Behind  the  martial 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         467 

Wardle  was  Peter  Peterson,  Peter  Long  Peterson, 
and  Peter  Long  Peter  Peterson,  the  most  martial 
looking  men  in  Amalon  after  their  leader ;  and  then 
came  a  few  more  fours  of  proudly  mounted  Saints. 

After  this  escort,  separated  by  an  interval  that 
would  let  the  dust  settle  a  little,  came  the  body  of 
the  procession.  First  a  carnage  containing  the 
Prophet,  portly,  strong-faced,  easy  of  manner,  as 
became  a  giant  who  felt  kindly  in  his  might.  By 
his  side  was  his  wife,  Amelia,  the  reigning  favour 
ite,  who  could  play  the  piano  and  sing  "  Fair  Bingen 
on  the  Rhine  "  with  a  dash  that  was  said  to  be  su 
perb.  Behind  this  float  of  honour  came  other  car 
riages,  bearing  the  Prophet's  Counsellors,  the 
Apostles,  Chief  Bishop,  Bishops  generally,  Elders, 
Priests,  and  Deacons,  each  taking  precedence  near 
the  Prophet's  carriage  by  seniority  of  rank  or  ordi 
nation.  Along  the  line  of  carriages  were  outriders, 
bearing  proudly  aloft  banners  upon  which  suitable 
devices  were  printed : 

"  God  bless  Brigham  Young!  " 

"Hail  to  Zion's  Chief !" 

"  The  Lion  of  the  Lord." 

"  Welcome  to  our  Mouthpiece  of  God !  " 

Behind  the  last  carriage  came  the  citizens  in  pro 
cession,  each  detachment  with  its  banner.  The 
elderly  brethren  stepped  briskly  under  "  Fathers  in 
Israel  " ;  the  elderly  sisters  gazed  proudly  aloft  to 
"  Mothers  in  Israel."  Then  came  a  company  of 
young  men  whose  banner  announced  them  as  "  De 
fenders  of  Zion."  They  were  followed  by  a  com- 


468         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

pany  of  maidens  led  by  Matilda  Wright,  striving 
to  be  not  too  much  elated,  and  whose  banner  bore 
the  inscription,  "  Daughters  of  Zion."  At  the  last 
came  the  children,  openly  set  up  by  the  occasion,  and 
big-eyed  with  importance,  the  boy  who  carried  their 
banner,  "  The  Hope  of  Israel,"  going  with  wonder 
ful  rigidity,  casting  not  so  much  as  an  eye  either  to 
right  or  left. 

But  Prudence  had  not  been  in  this  triumphal  col 
umn,  nor  was  she  among  any  of  the  women  who 
stood  with  children  in  their  arms,  or  who  rushed 
to  the  doors  with  sleeves  rolled  up  and  a  long  spoon 
or  fork  in  their  hands. 

Then  all  at  once  a  great  inspiration  came  to  Fol- 
lett.  When  the  last  dusty  little  white-dressed  girl 
had  trudged  solemnly  by,  and  the  head  of  the  pro 
cession  was  already  winding  down  the  lane  that  led 
to  Elder  Wardle's  place,  he  called  himself  a  fool 
and  turned  back.  He  walked  like  a  man  who  has 
suddenly  remembered  that  which  he  should  not  have 
forgotten.  And  yet  he  had  remembered  nothing  at 
all.  He  had  only  thought  of  a  possibility,  but  one 
that  became  more  plausible  with  every  step;  espe 
cially  when  he  reached  the  Rae  house  and  found  it 
deserted.  Whenever  he  thought  of  his  stupidity, 
which  was  every  score  of  steps,  he  would  break  into 
a  little  trot  that  made  the  willows  along  the  creek  on 
his  left  run  into  a  yellowish  green  blur. 

He  was  breathing  hard  by  the  time  he  had  made 
the  last  ascent  and  stood  in  the  cool  shade  of  the 
comforting  pines.  He  waited  until  his  pulse  became 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         469 

slower,  wiping  his  forehead  with  the  blue  neckerchief 
which  Prudence  had  suggested  that  she  liked  to  see 
him  wear  in  place  of  the  one  of  scarlet.  When  he 
had  cooled  and  calmed  himself  a  little,  he  stepped 
lightly  on.  Around  the  big  rock  he  went,  over  the 
"  down  timber  "  beyond  it,  up  over  the  rise  down 
which  the  waters  tumbled,  and  then  sharply  to  the 
right  where  their  nook  was,  a  call  to  her  already  on 
his  lips. 

But  she  was  not  there.  He  could  see  the  place  at 
a  glance.  Nothing  below  met  his  eye  but  the 
straight  red  trunks  of  the  pines  and  the  brown  carpet 
beneath  them.  A  jay  posed  his  deep  shining  blue 
on  a  cluster  of  scarlet  sumac,  and,  cocking  his  crested 
head,  screamed  at  him  mockingly.  The  canon's  cool 
breath  fanned  him  and  the  pine-tops  sighed  and  sang. 
At  first  he  was  disheartened;  but  then  his  eyes 
caught  a  gleam  of  white  and  red  under  the  pine, 
touched  to  movement  by  a  low-swinging  breeze. 

It  was  her  hat  swaying  where  she  had  hung  it  on 
a  broken  bough  of  the  tree  she  liked  to  lean  against. 
And  there  was  her  book ;  not  the  book  of  Mormon, 
but  a  secular,  frivolous  thing  called  "  Leaflets  of 
Memory,  an  Illuminated  Annual  for  the  Year  1847." 
It  was  lying  on  its  face,  open  at  the  sentimental  tale 
of  "  Anastasia."  He  put  it  down  where  she  had  left 
it.  The  canon  was  narrow  and  she  would  hardly 
leave  the  waterside  for  the  steep  trail.  She  would 
be  at  the  upper  cascade  or  in  the  little  park  above  it, 
or  somewhere  between.  He  crossed  the  stream,  and 
there  in  the  damp  sand  was  the  print  of  a  small 


470         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

heel  where  she  had  made  a  long  step  from  the  last 
stone.  He  began  to  hurry  again,  clambering  reck 
lessly  over  boulders,  or  through  the  underbrush 
where  the  sides  of  the  stream  were  steep.  When 
the  upper  cascade  came  in  sight  his  heart  leaped,  for 
there  he  caught  the  fleeting  shimmer  of  a  skirt  and 
the  gleam  of  a  dark  head. 

He  hurried  on,  and  after  a  moment's  climb  had 
her  in  full  view,  standing  on  the  ledge  below  which 
the  big  trout  lay.  There  he  saw  her  turn  so  that 
he  would  have  sworn  she  looked  at  him.  It  seemed 
impossible  that  she  had  not  seen  him;  but  to  his 
surprise  she  at  once  started  up  the  stream,  swiftly 
footing  over  the  rough  way,  now  a  little  step,  now 
a  free  leap,  grasping  a  willow  to  pull  herself  up  an 
incline,  then  disappearing  around  a  clump  of  cedars. 

He  redoubled  his  speed  over  the  rocks.  When  she 
next  came  into  view,  still  far  ahead,  he  shouted  long 
and  loud.  It  was  almost  certain  that  she  must  hear ; 
and  yet  she  made  no  sign.  She  seemed  even  to 
speed  ahead  the  faster  for  his  hail. 

Again  he  sprang  forward  to  cover  the  distance 
between  them,  and  again  he  shouted  when  the  next 
view  of  her  showed  that  he  was  gaining.  This  time 
he  was  sure  she  heard;  but  she  did  not  look  back, 
and  she  very  plainly  increased  her  speed. 

For  an  instant  he  stood  aghast  at  this  discovery; 
then  he  laughed. 

"  Well  if  you  want  a  race,  you'll  get  it!  " 

He  was  off  again  along  the  rough  bed  of  the 
stream.  He  shouted  no  more,  but  slowly  increased 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         471 

the  gain  he  had  made  upon  her.  Instead  of  losing 
time  by  climbing  up  over  the  bank,  he  splashed 
through  the  water  at  two  places  where  the  little 
stream  was  wide  and  shallow.  Then  at  last  he 
saw  that  he  was  closing  in  upon  her.  Soon  he  was 
near  enough  to  see  that  she  also  knew  it. 

He  began  at  that  moment  an  extended  course  of 
marvelling  at  the  ways  of  woman.  For  now  she  had 
reached  the  edge  of  the  little  open  park,  and  was 
placidly  seating  herself  on  a  fallen  tree  in  the  grove 
of  quaking  aspens.  He  could  not  understand  this 
change  of  manner.  And  when  he  reached  the  open 
ing  she  again  astounded  him  by  greeting  him  with 
every  manifestation  of  surprise,  from  the  first  nerv 
ous  start  to  the  pushing  up  of  her  dark  brows. 

"  Why,"  she  began,  "  how  did  you  ever  think  of 
coming  here?  " 

But  he  had  twice  hurried  fruitlessly  this  hot 
morning  and  he  was  not  again  to  be  baffled.  As  he 
advanced  toward  her,  she  regarded  him  with  some 
apprehension  until  he  stopped  a  safe  six  feet  away. 
She  had  noted  certain  lines  of  determination  in  his 
face. 

"  Now  what's  the  use  of  pretending?  —  what  did 
you  run  for?  " 

"It  — run?" 

Again  the  curving  black  brows  went  up  in  frank 
surprise. 

"Yes,  —  you  run!" 

He  took  a  threatening  step  forward,  and  the  brows 
promptly  fell  to  serious  intentness  of  his  face. 


472         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  What  did  you  do  it  for?  " 

She  stood  up.  "  What  did  I  do  it  for?  —  what 
did  I  do  what  for?  " 

But  his  eyes  were  searching  her  and  she  had  to 
lower  her  own.  Then  she  looked  up  again,  and 
laughed  nervously. 

"I  —  I  don't  know  —  I  couldn't  help  it."  Again 
she  laughed.  "  And  why  did  you  run  ?  how  did 
you  think  of  coming  here?  " 

"  I'll  tell  you  how,  now  I've  caught  you."  He 
started  toward  her,  but  she  was  quickly  backing 
away  into  the  opening  of  the  little  park,  still  laugh 
ing. 

"  Look  out  for  that  blow-down  back  of  you !  "  he 
called.  In  the  second  that  she  halted  to  turn  and 
discover  his  trick  he  had  caught  her  by  the  arm. 

"  There  —  I  caught  you  fair  —  now  what  did  you 
run  for?" 

"  I  couldn't  help  it."  Her  face  was  crimson.  His 
own  was  pale  under  the  tan.  They  could  hear  the 
beating  of  both  their  hearts.  But  with  his  capture 
made  so  boldly  he  was  dumb,  knowing  not  what  to 
say. 

The  faintest  pulling  of  the  imprisoned  arm  aroused 
him. 

"  I'd  'a'  followed  you  till  Christmas  come  if  you'd 
kept  on.  Clear  over  the  divide  and  over  the  whole 
creation.  I  never  would  have  given  you  up.  I'm 
never  going  to." 

He  caught  her  other  wrist  and  sought  to  draw 
her  to  him. 


THE  LIONS  OF  THE  LORD        473 

With  head  down  she  came,  slowly,  yielding 
yet  resisting,  with  little  shudders  of  terror  that  was 
yet  a  strange  delight,  with  eyes  that  dared  give  him 
but  one  quick  little  look,  half  pleading  and  half  fear. 
But  then  after  a  few  tense  seconds  her  struggles  were 
all  housed  far  within  his  arms ;  there  was  no  longer 
play  for  the  faintest  of  them ;  and  she  was  strained 
until  she  felt  her  heart  rush  out  to  him  as  she  had 
once  felt  it  go  to  her  dream  of  a  single  love,  —  with 
the  utter  abandon  of  the  falling  water  beside  them. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  park  across  the 
half-acre  of  waving  bunch-grass,  a  many-pronged 
old  buck  in  his  thin  red  summer  coat  lay  at  the  edge 
of  the  quaking  aspens,  sunning  the  velvet  of  his 
tender  new  horns  to  harden  them  against  approach 
ing  combats.  He  had  shrewdly  noted  that  the  first 
comer  did  not  see  him ;  but  this  second  was  a  crea 
ture  of  action  in  whose  presence  it  were  ill-advised  to 
linger.  Noiselessly  his  hindquarters  raised  from 
the  ground,  and  then  with  a  snort  of  indignation 
and  a  mighty,  crashing  rush  he  was  off  through 
the  trees  and  up  the  hill.  Doubtless  the  beast  cher 
ished  a  delusion  of  clever  escape  from  a  dangerous 
foe;  but  neither  of  the  pair  standing  so  near  saw 
or  heard  him  or  would  have  been  conscious  of  him 
even  had  he  led  past  them  in  wild  flight  the  biggest 
herd  it  had  ever  been  his  lot  to  domineer.  For  these 
two  were  lost  to  all  but  the  wonder  of  the  moment, 
pushing  fearfully  on  into  the  glory  and  sweetness 
of  it. 

His  voice  came  to  her  in  a  dull  murmur,  and  the 


474         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

sound  of  the  running  water  came,  again  like  the 
muffled  tinkling  of  little  silver  bells  in  the  distance. 
Both  his  arms  were  strong  about  her,  and  now  her 
own  hands  rose  in  rebellion  to  meet  where  the  ker 
chief  was  knotted  at  the  back  of  his  neck,  quite  as 
the  hands  of  the  other  woman  had  rebelliously  flung 
down  the  scarf  from  the  balcony.  Then  the  brim 
of  his  hat  came  down  over  her  hair,  and  her  lips 
felt  his  kiss. 

They  stood  so  a  long  time,  it  seemed  to  them,  in 
the  high  grass,  amid  the  white-barked  quaking 
aspens,  while  a  little  wind  from  the  dark  pines  at 
their  side,  lowered  now  to  a  yearning  softness, 
played  over  them.  They  were  aroused  at  last  by  a 
squirrel  that  ran  half-way  down  the  trunk  of  a 
near-by  spruce  to  bark  indignantly  at  them,  believing 
they  menaced  his  winter's  store  of  spruce  cones  piled 
at  the  foot  of  the  tree.  With  rattle  after  rattle  his 
alarm  came,  until  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  noting 
an  effect. 

The  young  man  put  the  girl  away  from  him  to 
look  upon  her  in  the  new  light  that  enveloped  them 
both,  still  holding  her  hands. 

"  There's  one  good  thing  about  your  marriages, 
—  they  marry  you  for  eternity,  don't  they  ?  That's 
for  ever  —  only  it  isn't  long  enough,  even  so  —  not 
for  me." 

"  I  thought  you  were  never  coming." 

"  But  you  said  "  —  he  saw  the  futility  of  it,  how 
ever,  and  kissed  her  instead. 

"  I  was  afraid  of  you  all  this  summer,"  he  said. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         475 

"  I  was  afraid  of  you,  too." 

"  You  got  over  it  yesterday  all  right." 

"How?" 

"You  kissed  me." 

"  Never  —  what  an  awful  thing  to  say !  " 

"  But  you  did  —  twice  —  don't  you  remember?  " 

"  Oh,  well,  it  doesn't  matter.  If  I  did  it  wasn't 
at  all  like  —  like  —  " 

"  Like  that  —  " 

"  No  —  I  didn't  think  anything  about  it." 

"  And  now  you'll  never  leave  me,  and  I'll  never 
leave  you." 

They  sat  on  the  fallen  tree. 

"  And  to  think  of  that  old  —  " 

"  Oh,  don't  talk  of  it.  That's  why  I  ran  off  here 
—  so  I  couldn't  hear  anything  about  it  until  he  went 
away." 

"  Why  didn't  you  tell  me  you  were  coming?  " 

"  I  didn't  think  you  were  so  stupid." 

"  How  was  I  to  know  where  you  were  coming?  " 

But  now  she  was  reminded  of  something. 

"  Tell  me  one  thing  —  did  you  ever  know  a  little 
short  fat  girl,  a  blonde  that  you  liked  very  much  ?  " 

"Never!" 

"  Then  what  did  you  talk  so  much  about  her  for 
yesterday  if  you  didn't?  You'd  speak  of  her  every 
time." 

"  I  didn't  think  you  were  so  stupid." 

"Well,  I  can't  see— ' 

"  You  don't  need  to  —  we'll  call  it  even." 


476         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

And  so  the  talk  went  until  the  sun  had  fallen  for 
an  hour  and  they  knew  it  was  time  to  go  below. 

"  We  will  go  to  the  meeting  together,"  she  said, 
"  and  then  father  shall  tell  Brigham,  —  tell  him  —  " 

"  That  you're  going  to  marry  me.  Why  don't  you 
say  it?" 

"  That  I'm  going  to  marry  you,  and  be  your  only 
wife."  She  nestled  under  his  arm  again. 

"  For  time  and  eternity  —  that's  the  way  your 
Church  puts  it." 

Then,  not  knowing  it,  they  took  their  last  walk 
down  the  pine-hung  glade.  Many  times  he  picked 
her  lightly  up  to  carry  her  over  rough  places  and 
was  loth  to  put  her  down,  —  having,  in  truth,  to 
be  bribed  thereto. 

At  their  usual  resting-place  she  put  on  her  hat 
with  the  cherry  ribbons,  and  he,  taking  off  his  own, 
kissed  her  under  it. 

And  then  they  were  out  on  the  highroad  to 
Amalon,  where  all  was  a  glaring  dusty  gray  under 
the  high  sun,  and  the  ragged  rim  of  the  western  hills 
quivered  and  ran  in  the  heat. 

He  thought  on  the  way  down  of  how  the  news 
would  be  taken  by  the  little  bent  man  with  the  fiery 
eyes.  She  was  thinking  how  glad  she  was  that 
young  Ammaron  Wright  had  not  kissed  her  that 
time  he  tried  to  at  the  dance  —  since  kisses  were 
like  that. 


CHAPTER   XLI. 

The  Rise  <md  Fall  of  a  Bent  Little  Prophet 

DOWN  in  the  village  the  various  dinners  of 
ceremony  to  the  visiting  officials  were  over. 
An  hour  had  followed  of  decent  rest  and 
informal  chat  between  the  visitors  and  their  hosts, 
touching  impartially  on  matters  of  general  inter 
est;  on  irrigation,  the  gift  of  tongues,  the  season's 
crop  of  peaches,  the  pouring  out  of  the  Spirit  abroad, 
the  best  mixture  of  sheep-dip;  on  many  matters 
not  unpleasing  to  the  practical-minded  Deity  reign 
ing  over  them. 

Then  the  entire  populace  of  Amalon,  in  its  Sun 
day  best  of  "  valley  tan  "  or  store-goods,  flocked 
to  the  little  square  and  sat  expectantly  on  the  benches 
under  the  green  roof  of  the  bowery,  ready  to  absorb 
the  droppings  of  the  sanctuary. 

In  due  time  came  Brigham,  strolling  between 
Elder  Wardle  and  Bishop  Wright,  bland,  affable, 
and  benignant.  On  the  platform  about  him  sat 
his  Counsellors,  the  more  distinguished  of  his  suite, 
and  the  local  dignitaries  of  the  Church. 

Among  these  came  the  little  bent  man  with  an 
477 


478         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

unwonted  colour  in  his  face,  coming  in  absorbed  in 
thought,  shaking  hands  even  with  Brigham  with 
something  of  abstraction  in  his  manner.  Prudence 
and  Follett  came  late,  finding  seats  at  the  back  next 
to  a  generous  row  of  the  Mrs.  Seth  Wright. 

The  hymn  to  Joseph  Smith  was  given  out,  and 
the  congregation  rose  to  sing :  — 

"  Unchanged  in  death,  with  a  Saviour's  love, 
He  pleads  their  cause  in  the  courts  above. 

"  His  home's  in  the  sky,  he  dwells  with  the  gods, 
Far  from  the  rage  of  furious  mobs. 

"  He  died,  he  died,  for  those  he  loved, 
He  reigns,  he  reigns,  in  the  realms  above. 

"  Shout,  shout,  ye  Saints  !     This  boon  is  given,  — 
We'll  meet  our  martyred  seer  in  heaven." 

When  they  had  settled  into  their  seats,  the  Wild 
Ram  of  the  Mountains  arose  and  invoked  a  blessing 
on  those  present  and  upon  those  who  had  gone 
behind  the  veil ;  adding  a  petition  that  Brigham  be 
increased  in  his  basket  and  in  his  store,  in  wives, 
flocks,  and  herds,  and  in  the  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

They  sang  another  hymn,  and  when  that  was 
done,  the  little  bent  man  arose  and  came  hesitatingly 
forward  to  the  baize-covered  table  that  served  as 
a  pulpit.  As  President  of  the  Stake  it  was  his 
office  to  welcome  the  visitors,  and  this  he  did. 

There  were  whisperings  in  the  audience  when  his 
appearance  was  noted.  It  was  the  first  time  he  had 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         479 

been  seen  by  many  of  them  in  weeks.  They  whis 
pered  that  he  was  failing. 

"  He  ought  to  be  home  this  minute,"  was  the 
first  Mrs.  Wardle's  diagnosis  to  the  fifth  Mrs.  War- 
die,  behind  her  hymn-book,  "  with  his  feet  in  a 
mustard  bath  and  a  dose  of  gamboge  and  a  big 
brewing  of  catnip  tea.  I  can  tell  a  fever  as  far  as 
I  can  see  it." 

The  words  of  official  welcome  spoken,  he  began 
his  discourse;  but  in  a  timid,  shuffling  manner  so 
unlike  his  old  self  that  still  others  whispered  of  his 
evident  illness.  Inside  he  burned  with  his  purpose, 
but,  with  all  his  resolves,  the  presence  of  Brigham 
left  him  unnerved.  He  began  by  referring  to  their 
many  adversities  since  the  day  when  they  had  first 
knelt  to  entreat  the  mercy  of  God  upon  the  land. 
Then  he  spoke  of  revelations. 

"  You  must  all  have  had  revelations,  because  they 
have  come  even  to  me.  Perhaps  you  were  deaf  to 
the  voice,  as  I  have  been.  Perhaps  you  have  trusted 
too  readily  in  some  revelation  that  came  years  ago, 
supposedly  from  God  —  in  truth,  from  the  Devil. 
Perhaps  you  have  been  deaf  to  later  revelations 
meant  to  warn  you  of  the  other's  falseness." 

He  was  still  uneasy,  hesitating,  fearful;  but  he 
saw  interest  here  and  there  in  the  faces  before  him. 
Even  Brigham,  though  unseen  by  the  speaker,  was 
looking  mildly  curious. 

"  You  remember  the  revelation  that  came  to 
Joseph  in  an  early  day  when  there  was  trouble  in 
raising  money  to  print  the  Book  of  Mormon,  — 


480         THE  LIONS   OF  THE  LORD 

1  Some  revelations  are  from  God,  some  from  man, 
and  some  from  the  Devil.'  Recalling  the  many 
chastenings  God  has  put  upon  us,  may  we  not  have 
failed  to  test  all  our  other  revelations  by  this  one  ?  " 

Deep  within  he  was  angry  at  himself,  for  he 
was  not  speaking  with  words  of  fire  as  he  had 
meant  to;  he  was  feeling  a  shameful  cowardice  in 
the  presence  of  the  Prophet.  He  had  seen  himself 
once  more  the  Lute  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  strong  and 
moving;  but  now  he  was  a  poor,  low-spoken,  hesi 
tating  rambler.  Nervously  he  went  on,  skirting 
about  the  edge  of  his  truth  as  long  as  he  dared, 
but  feeling  at  last  that  he  must  plunge  into  its  icy 
depths. . 

"  In  short,  brethren,  the  Book  of  Mormon  de 
nounces  and  forbids  our  plural  marriages." 

Even  this  astounding  declaration  he  made  with 
out  warmth,  in  tones  so  low  that  many  did  not  hear 
him.  Those  on  the  platform  heard,  however,  and 
now  began  to  view  his  obvious  physical  weakness 
in  a  new  light.  Yet  he  continued,  gaining  a  little 
in  force. 

"  The  declarations  on  the  subject  in  the  Book  of 
Mormon  are  so  worded  that  we  cannot  fail  to  read 
them  as  denouncing  and  forbidding  the  practise  of 
the  Old  Testament  patriarchs  in  this  matter  of  the 
family  life." 

In  rapid  succession  he  cited  the  passages  to  which 
he  referred,  those  concerning  David  and  Solomon 
and  Noah  and  Ripkalish,  who  "  did  not  do  that 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         481 

which  was  right  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  for  he 
did  have  many  wives." 

There  were  murmurings  and  rustlings  among  the 
people  now,  and  on  his  right  he  heard  Brigham  stir 
ring  ominously  in  his  chair ;  but  he  nerved  himself 
to  keep  on  his  feet,  feeling  he  had  that  to  say  which 
should  make  them  hail  him  as  a  new  prophet  when 
they  understood. 

"  But  besides  these  warnings  against  the  sin  there 
are  many  early  revelations  to  Joseph  himself  con 
demning  it." 

He  cited  several  of  these,  feeling  the  amazement 
and  the  alarm  grow  about  him. 

"  And  now  against  these  plain  words,  given  at 
many  times  in  many  places,  written  on  the  golden 
plates  in  letters  that  cannot  lie,  or  brought  to  Joseph 
by  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  we  have  only  the  one 
revelation  on  celestial  marriage.  Read  it  now  in 
the  light  of  these  other  revelations  and  see  if  it 
does  not  too  plainly  convict  itself  of  having  been 
counterfeited  to  Joseph  by  an  evil  spirit.  Such, 
brethren,  has  been  the  revelation  that  the  Lord  has 
given  to  me  again  and  again  until  it  burns  within 
me,  and  I  must  cry  it  out  to  you.  Try  to  receive 
it  from  me." 

There  was  commotion  among  the  people  in  front, 
chairs  were  moved  at  his  side,  and  a  low  voice 
called  to  him  to  sit  down.  He  heard  this  voice 
through  the  ringing  that  had  been  in  his  ears  for 
many  days,  like  the  beating  of  a  sea  against  him, 
and  he  felt  the  strength  go  suddenly  from  his  knees. 


482          THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

He  stumbled  weakly  back  to  his  chair  and  sank 
into  it  with  head  bowed,  feeling,  rather  than  seeing, 
the  figure  of  Brigham  rise  from  its  seat  and  step 
forward  with  deliberate,  unruffled  majesty. 

As  the  Prophet  faced  his  people  they  became 
quite  silent,  so  that  the  robins  could  be  heard  in  the 
Pettigrew  peach-trees  across  the  street.  He  poured 
a  glass  of  water  from  the  pitcher  on  the  table,  and 
drank  of  it  slowly.  Then,  leaning  a  little  forward, 
resting  both  his  big  cushiony  hands  on  the  green 
of  the  table,  the  Lion  of  the  Lord  began  to  roar  — 
very  softly  at  first.  Slowly  the  words  came,  in  tones 
scarce  audible,  marked  indeed  almost  by  the  hesi 
tation  of  the  first  speaker.  But  then  a  difference 
showed;  gradually  the  tone  increased  in  volume, 
the  words  came  faster,  fluency  succeeding  hesita 
tion,  and  now  his  voice  was  high  and  searching, 
while  his  easy,  masterful  gestures  laid  their  old 
spell  upon  the  people. 

"  It  does  not  occupy  my  feelings  to  curse  any 
individual,"  he  had  begun,  awkwardly;  "in  fact, 
I  feel  to  render  all  thanks  and  praise  for  the  dis 
course  to  which  we  have  just  listened,  but  I  couldn't 
help  saying  to  myself,  '  Oh,  dear,  Granny !  what 
a  long  tail  our  puss  has  got ! ' 

An  uneasy  titter  came  from  the  packed  square 
of  faces  in  front  of  him.  He  went  on  with  rising 
power : 

"  But  it  is  foretold  in  the  Book  of  Mormon  that 
the  Lord  will  remove  the  bitter  branches,  and  it's  a 
good  thing  to  find  out  where  the  bitter  branches 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         483 

are.  We  can  remove  them  ourselves.  We  can't 
expect  the  Lord  to  do  all  our  dirty  work.  Now 
hear  it  once  more,  you  that  need  to  hear  it  —  and 
damn  all  such  poor  pussyism  as  sniffles  and  whines 
and  rejects  it!  We  don't  want  that  scrubby  breed 
here !  —  Listen,  I  say.  The  celestial  order  of  mar 
riage  is  necessary  for  our  exaltation  to  the  fulness 
of  the  Lord's  glory  in  the  world  eternal.  Where 
much  is  given  much  is  required.  Understand  me, 
—  those  that  reject  polygamy  will  be  damned.  Hear 
it  now  once  for  all.  I  will  give  you  to  know  that 
God,  our  Father,  has  many  wives,  and  so  has  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Elder  Brother.  Our  God  and  Father  in 
heaven  is  a  being  of  tabernacle,  or,  in  other  words, 
He  has  a  body  of  parts  the  same  as  you  and  I  have. 
And  that  God  and  Father  of  ours  was  Adam." 

Again  there  was  a  stirring  below  as  if  a  wind 
swept  the  people,  and  the  little  man  in  his  chair 
cowered  for  shame  of  himself.  He  had  meant  to  do 
a  great  thing;  he  had  thrilled  so  strongly  with 
it;  it  had  promised  to  master  others  as  it  had 
mastered  him ;  and  now  he  was  shamed  by  the  one 
true  Lion  of  the  Lord. 

"  Hear  it  now,"  continued  Brigham.  "  When 
God,  our  Father  Adam,  came  into  the  garden  of 
Eden,  he  came  into  it  with  a  celestial  body,  and 
brought  one  of  his  wives  with  him,  —  Eve.  He 
made  and  organised  this  world.  He  is  Michael, 
the  Archangel,  the  Ancient  of  Days,  about  whom 
holy  men  have  written  and  spoken.  He  is  our 
Father  and  our  God,  and  the  only  God  with  whom 


484         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

we  have  to  do.  I  could  tell  you  much  more  about 
this;  but  were  I  to  tell  you  the  whole  truth,  blas 
phemy  would  be  nothing  to  it,  in  the  estimation 
of  the  superstitious  and  over-righteous  of  mankind. 
But  I  will  tell  you  this,  that  Jesus,  our  Elder 
Brother,  was  begotten  in  the  flesh  by  the  same  char 
acter  that  was  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  and  who  is 
our  Father  in  Heaven." 

A  chorus  of  Amens  from  the  platform  greeted 
this.  It  was  led  by  the  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains. 
In  his  chair  the  little  bent  man  now  cowered  lower 
and  lower,  one  moment  praying  for  strength,  the 
next  for  death ;  feeling  the  blood  surge  through  him 
like  storm  waves  that  would  beat  him  down.  If  only 
Heaven  would  send  him  one  last  moment  of  power 
to  word  this  truth  so  that  it  might  prevail.  But 
Brigham  was  continuing. 

"And  what  of  this  Elder  Brother,  Jesus?  Did 
he  reject  the  patriarchal  order  —  like  some  poor 
pusillanimous  cry-babies  among  us?  No,  I  say! 
It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  once  on  a  time  there 
was  a  marriage  in  Cana  of  Galilee;  and  on  a  care 
ful  reading-  of  that  transaction  it  will  be  discovered 
that  no  less  a  person  than  Jesus  Christ  was  married 
on  that  occasion.  If  he  was  never  married  his  inti 
macy  with  Mary  and  Martha,  and  the  other  Mary 
also,  whom  Jesus  loved,  must  have  been  highly 
unbecoming  and  improper,  to  say  the  best  of  it. 
I  will  venture  to  say  that,  if  Jesus  Christ  was  now 
to  pass  through  the  most  pious  countries  in  Christen 
dom,  with  a  train  of  women  such  as  used  to  follow 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         485 

Him,  fondling  about  Him,  combing  His  hair, 
anointing  Him  with  precious  ointments,  washing 
His  feet  with  tears,  and  wiping  them  with  the  hair 
of  their  heads,  —  that,  unmarried  or  even  married, 
He  would  be  mobbed,  tarred  and  feathered,  and 
ridden,  not  on  an  ass,  but  on  a  rail.  Now  did  He 
multiply,  and  did  He  see  His  seed?  Others  may 
do  as  they  like,  but  I  will  not  charge  our  Saviour 
with  neglect  or  transgression  in  this  or  any  other 
duty." 

He  turned  and  went  to  his  seat  with  a  last  threat 
ening  gesture,  amid  many  little  sounds  of  people 
relaxing  from  strained  positions. 

But  then,  before  another  could  arise,  a  wonder 
came  upon  them.  The  little  man  stood  up  and 
came  quickly  forward,  a  strange  new  life  in  his 
step,  a  new  confidence  in  his  bearing,  a  curious  glow 
of  new  strength  in  his  face.  Even  his  stoop  had 
straightened  for  the  moment.  For,  as  he  had 
listened  to  Brigham's  last  words,  the  picture  of  his 
vision  in  the  desert  had  come  back,  —  the  cross 
in  the  sky,  the  crucified  Saviour  upon  it,  the  head 
in  death-agony  fallen  over  upon  the  shoulder.  And 
then  before  his  eyes  had  come  page  after  page  of 
that  New  Testament  with  a  wash  of  blood  across 
two  of  them.  He  felt  the  new  life  he  had  prayed 
for  pouring  into  his  veins,  and  with  it  a  fierce  anger. 
The  one  on  the  cross  who  had  been  more  than 
man,  who  had  shirked  no  sacrifice  and  loved  infi 
nitely,  was  not  thus  to  be  assailed.  A  panorama  of 
wrong  —  wrong  thinking  and  wrong  doing  —  ex- 


486         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

tended  before  his  clearing  gaze.  For  once  he  seemed 
to  see  truth  in  a  vision  and  to  feel  the  power  to 
utter  it. 

There  was  silence  again  as  he  stood  in  front  of 
the  little  table,  the  faces  before  him  frozen  into 
wonder  that  he  should  have  either  the  power  or 
the  temerity  to  answer  Brigham.  He  spoke,  and 
his  voice  was  again  rough  with  force,  and  high  and 
fearless,  a  voice  many  of  them  recalled  from  the  days 
when  he  had  not  been  weak. 

"  Now  I  see  what  we  have  done.  Listen,  breth 
ren,  for  God  has  not  before  so  plainly  said  it  to 
any  man,  and  I  know  my  time  is  short  among  you. 
We  have  gone  back  to  the  ages  of  Hebrew  barbarism 
for  our  God  —  to  the  God  of  Battles  worshipped 
by  a  heathen  people  —  a  God  who  loved  the  reek  of 
blood  and  the  smell  of  burning  flesh.  But  you  shall 
not  —  " 

He  turned  squarely  and  fiercely  to  the  face  of 
Brigham. 

"  —  you  shall  not  confuse  that  bloody  God  of 
Battles  with  the  true  Christ,  nor  yet  with  the  true 
God  of  Love  that  this  Christ  came  to  tell  us  of. 
Once  I  believed  in  Him.  I  was  taught  to  by  your 
priests.  War  seemed  a  righteous  thing,  for  we  had 
been  grievously  put  upon,  and  I  believed  the  God 
of  Israel  should  avenge  our  wrongs  as  He  had 
avenged  those  of  His  older  Zion.  And  hear  me 
now  —  so  long  as  I  believed  this,  I  was  no  coward ; 
while  you,  sir  —  " 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         487 

A  long  forefinger  was  pointed  straight  at  the 
amazed  Brigham. 

"  —  while  you,  sir,  were  a  craven,  contemptible 
in  your  cowardice.  I  would  have  fought  in  Echo 
Canon  to  the  end,  because  I  believed.  But  you  did 
not  believe,  and  so  you  were  afraid  to  fight.  And 
for  your  cowardice  and  your  wretched  lusts  your 
name  among  all  but  your  ignorant  dupes  shall  be 
come  a  hissing  and  a  scorn.  For  mark  it  well, 
unless  you  forsake  that  heathen  God  of  Battles  and 
preach  the  divine  Christ  of  the  New  Testament, 
you  shall  come  to  hold  only  the  ignorant,  and  them 
only  by  keeping  them  ignorant." 

The  commotion  among  the  people  in  front  was 
now  all  but  a  panic.  On  the  platform  the  sires 
of  Israel  whispered  one  to  another,  while  Brigham 
gazed  as  if  fascinated,  driven  to  admiration  for  the 
speaker's  power  and  audacity.  For  the  feverish, 
fleeting  moment,  Joel  Rae  was  that  veritable  Lion 
of  the  Lord  he  had  prayed  to  be,  putting  upon  the 
people  his  spell  of  the  old  days.  Heads  were  again 
strained  up  and  forward,  and  amazed  horror  was 
on  most  of  the  faces.  Far  back,  Prudence  trembled, 
feeling  that  she  must  be  away  at  once,  until  she 
felt  the  firm  grasp  of  Follett's  hand.  The  speaker 
went  on,  having  turned  again  to  the  front. 

"  Instead  of  a  church  you  shall  become  justly 
hated  and  despised  as  a  people  who  foul  their  homes 
and  dishonour  beyond  forgiveness  the  names  of  wife 
and  mother.  Then  your  punishment  shall  come 
upon  you  as  it  has  already  come  for  this  and  for 


488         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

other  sins.  Even  now  the  Gentile  is  upon  us;  and 
mark  this  truth  that  God  has  but  now  given  me  to 
know :  we  have  never  been  persecuted  as  a  church, 

—  but   always   as   a   political   body   hostile  to   the 
government  of  this  nation.     Even  so,  you  had  no 
faith.    Believing  as  I  believed,  I  would  have  fought 
that  nation  and  died  a  thousand  bloody  deaths  rather 
than  submit.     But  you  had  no  faith,  and  you  were 
so  low  that  you  let  yourselves  be  ruled  by  a  coward 

—  and  I  tell  you  God  hates  a  coward." 

Now  the  old  pleading  music  came  into  his  voice, 

—  the  music  that  had  made  him  the  Lute  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  the  Poet's  roster  of  titles. 

"  O  brethren,  let  me  beg  you  to  be  good  — 
simply  good.  Nothing  can  prevail  against  you  if 
you  are.  If  you  are  not,  nothing  shall  avail  you, 

—  the  power  of  no  priesthood,  no  signs,  ordinances, 
or  rituals.     Believe  me,   I   know.     Not  even  the 
forgiveness  of  the  Father.     For  I  tell  you  there 
is  a  divinity  within  each  of  you  that  you  may  some 
day   unwittingly   affront;    and   then   you   shall   lie 
always  in  hell,  for  if  you  cannot  forgive  yourself, 
the  forgiveness  of  God  will  not  free  you  even  if 
it  come  seventy  times  seven.     I  know.    For  fifteen 
years  I  have  lain  in  hell  for  the  work  this  Church 
did  at  Mountain  Meadows.     A  cross  was  put  there 
to  the  memory  of  those  we  slew.     Not  a  day  has 
passed  but  that  cross  has  been  burned  and  cut  into 
my  living  heart  with  a  blade  of  white  heat.     Now 
I  am  going  to  hell ;    but  I  am  tired  and  ready  to 
go.     Nor  do  I  go  as  a  coward,  as  you  will  go  —  " 


THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         489 

Again  the  long  forefinger  was  flung  out  to  point 
at  Brigham. 

"  —  but  I  shall  go  as  a  fighter  to  the  end.  I  have 
not  worshipped  Mammon,  and  I  have  conquered 
my  flesh  —  conquered  it  after  it  had  once  all  but 
conquered  me,  so  that  I  had  to  fight  the  harder  —  " 

He  stopped,  waiting  as  if  he  were  not  done,  but 
the  spell  was  broken.  The  life,  indeed,  had  in  the 
later  moments  been  slowly  dying  from  his  words; 
and,  as  they  lost  their  fire,  scattered  voices  of  pro 
test  had  been  heard;  then  voices  in  warning  from 
behind  him,  and  the  sound  of  two  or  three  rising 
and  pushing  back  their  chairs. 

Now  that  he  no  longer  heard  his  own  voice  he 
stood  quivering  and  panic-stricken,  the  fire  out  and 
the  pained  little  smile  coming  to  make  his  face 
gentle  again.  He  turned  weakly  toward  Brigham, 
but  the  Prophet  had  risen  from  his  seat  and  his 
broad  back  was  rounded  toward  the  speaker.  He 
appeared  to  be  consulting  a  group  of  those  who 
stood  on  the  platform,  and  they  who  were  not 
of  this  group  had  also  turned  away. 

The  little  bent  man  tried  again  to  smile,  hoping 
for  a  friendly  glance,  perhaps  a  hand-clasp  without 
words  from  some  one  of  them.  Seeing  that  he  was 
shunned,  he  stepped  down  off  the  platform  at  the 
side,  twisting  his  hat  in  his  long,  thin  hands  in 
embarrassment.  A  moment  he  stood  so,  turning  to 
look  back  at  the  group  of  priests  and  Elders  around 
the  Prophet,  seeking  for  any  sign,  even  for  a  glance 
that  should  be  not  unkind.  The  little  pained  smile 


490         THE   LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

still  lighted  his  face,  but  no  friendly  look  came 
from  the  others.  Seeing  only  the  backs  turned 
toward  him,  he  at  length  straightened  out  his  crum 
pled  hat,  still  smiling,  and  slowly  put  it  on  his  head ; 
as  he  turned  away  he  pulled  the  hat  farther  over 
his  eyes,  and  then  he  was  off  along  the  dusty  street, 
looking  to  neither  side,  still  with  the  little  smile 
that  made  his  face  gentle. 

But  when  he  had  come  to  the  end  of  the  street 
and  was  on  the  road  up  the  hill,  the  smile  died. 
He  seemed  all  at  once  to  shrink  and  stoop  and  fade, 

—  no  longer  a  Lion  of  the  Lord,  but  a  poor,  white- 
faced,  horrified  little  man  who  had  meant  in  his 
heart  to  give  a  great  revelation,  and  who  had  suc 
ceeded  only  in  uttering  blasphemy  to  the  very  face 
of  God's  prophet. 

From  below,  the  little  groups  of  excited  people 
along  the  street  looked  up  and  saw  his  thin,  bent 
figure  alone  in  the  fading  sunlight,  toiling  resolutely 
upward. 

Other  groups  back  in  the  square  talked  among 
themselves,  not  a  few  in  whispers.  A  listener  among 
them  might  have  heard  such  expressions  as,  "  He'll 
be  blood-atoned  sure!  "  —  "  They'll  make  a  breach 
upon  him!"  —  "They'll  accomplish  his  decease!" 

—  "  He'll  be  sent  over  the  rim  of  the  basin  right 
quick !  "     One  indignant  Saint,   with  a  talent   for 
euphemism,  was  heard  to  say,  "  Brigham  will  have 
his  spirit  disembodied !  " 

To  the  priests  and  Elders  on  the  platform  Elder 
Wardle  was  saying,  "  The  trouble  with  him  was  he 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         491 

was  crazy  with  fever.  Why,  I'll  bet  my  best  set 
of  harness  his  pulse  ain't  less  than  a  hundred  and 
twenty  this  minute." 

The  others  looked  at  Brigham. 

"  He's  a  crazy  man,  sure  enough,"  assented  the 
Prophet,  "  but  my  opinion  is  he'll  stay  crazy,  and 
it  wouldn't  be  just  the  right  thing  by  Israel  to  let 
him  go  on  talking  before  strangers.  You  see,  it 
sounds  so  almighty  sane!  " 

Back  in  the  crowd  Prudence  and  Follett  had 
lingered  a  little  at  the  latter's  suggestion,  for  he  had 
caught  the  drift  of  the  talk.  When  he  had  com 
prehended  its  meaning  they  set  off  up  the  hill,  full 
of  alarm. 

At  the  door  Christina  met  them.  They  saw  she 
had  been  crying. 

"  Where  is  father,  Christina?  " 

"  Himself  saddle  his  horse,  and  say,  '  I  go  to  toe 
some  of  those  marks.'  He  say,  '  I  see  you  plenty  not 
no  more,  so  good-bye! '  He  kissed  me,"  she  added. 

"Which  way  did  he  go?" 

"  So!  "  She  pointed  toward  the  road  that  led  out 
of  the  valley  to  the  north. 

"  I'll  go  after  him,"  said  Follett. 

"  I'll  go  with  you.  Saddle  Dandy  and  Kit  — 
and  Christina  will  have  something  for  you  to  eat; 
you've  had  nothing  since  morning." 

"  I  reckon  I  know  where  we'll  have  to  go,"  said 
Follett,  as  he  went  for  the  saddles. 


CHAPTER   XLII. 

The  Little  Bent  Man  at  the  Foot  of  the  Cross 

IT  was  dusk  when  they  rode  down  the  hill  to 
gether.  They  followed  the  canon  road  to  its 
meeting  with  the  main  highway  at  the  northern 
edge  of  Amalon.  Where  the  roads  joined  they 
passed  Bishop  Wright,  who,  with  his  hat  off,  turned 
to  stare  at  them,  and  to  pull  at  his  fringe  of  whisker 
in  seeming  perplexity. 

"  He  must  have  been  on  his  way  to  our  house," 
Prudence  called. 

"  With  that  hair  and  whiskers,"  answered  Follett, 
with  some  irrelevance,  "  he  looks  like  an  old  buffalo- 
bull  just  before  shedding-time." 

They  rode  fast  until  the  night  fell,  scanning  the 
road  ahead  for  a  figure  on  horseback.  When  it  was 
quite  dark  they  halted. 

"  We  might  pass  him,"  suggested  Follett.  "  He 
was  fairly  tuckered  out,  and  he  might  fall  off  any 
minute." 

"  Shall  we  go  on  slowly  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  We  might  miss  him  in  the  dark.  But  the  moon 
492 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         493 

will  be  up  in  an  hour,  and  then  we  can  go  at  full 
speed.  We  better  wait." 

"  Poor  little  sorry  father !  I  wish  we  had  gone 
home  sooner." 

"  He  certainly's  got  more  spunk  in  him  than  I 
gave  him  credit  for!  He  had  old  Brigham  and  the 
rest  of  them  plumb  buffaloed  for  a  minute.  Oh,  he 
did  crack  the  old  bull-whip  over  them  good !  " 

"  Poor  little  father !  Where  could  he  have  gone 
at  this  hour?" 

"  I've  got  an  idea  he's  set  out  for  that  cross  he's 
talked  so  much  about  —  that  one  up  here  in  the 
Meadows." 

"  I've  seen  it,  —  where  the  Indians  killed  those 
poor  people  years  ago.  But  what  did  he  mean  by 
the  crime  of  his  Church  there?  " 

"  We'll  ask  him  when  we  find  him.  And  I  reckon 
we'll  find  him  right  there  if  he  holds  out  to  ride 
that  far." 

He  tied  her  pony  to  an  oak-bush  a  little  off  the 
road,  threw  Dandy's  bridle-rein  to  the  ground  to 
make  him  stand,  and  on  a  shelving  rock  near  by 
he  found  her  a  seat. 

"  It  won't  be  long,  and  the  horses  need  a  chance 
to  breathe.  We've  come  along  at  a  right  smart 
clip,  and  Dandy's  been  getting  a  regular  grass- 
stomach  on  him  back  there." 

Side  by  side  they  sat,  and  in  the  dark  and  stillness 
their  own  great  happiness  came  back  to  them. 

"  The  first  time  I  liked  you  very  much,"  she  said, 


494         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

after  he  had  kissed  her,   "  was  when  I  saw  you 
were  so  kind  to  your  horse." 

"  That's  the  only  way  to  treat  stock.  I  can  gentle 
any  horse  I  ever  saw.  Are  you  sure  you  care  enough 
for  me?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  yes,  yes!  It  must  be  enough.  It's 
so  much  I'm  frightened  now." 
"  Will  you  go  away  with  me?  " 
"  Yes,  I  want  to  go  away  with  you." 
"  Well,  you  just  come  out  with  me,  —  out  of 
this  hole.  There's  a  fine  big  country  out  there  you 
don't  know  anything  about.  Our  home  will  reach 
from  Corpus  Christi  to  Deadwood,  and  from  the 
Missouri  clear  over  to  Mister  Pacific  Ocean.  We'll 
have  the  prairies  for  our  garden,  and  the  high  plains 
will  be  our  front  yard,  with  the  buffalo-grass  thicker 
than  hair  on  a  dog's  back.  And,  say,  I  don't  know 
about  it,  but  I  believe  they  have  a  bigger  God  out 
there  than  you've  got  in  this  Salt  Lake  Basin.  Any 
way,  He  acts  more  like  you'd  think  God  ought  to 
act.  He  isn't  so  particular  about  your  knowing 
a  lot  of  signs  and  grips  and  passwords  and  winks. 
Going  to  your  heaven  must  be  like  going  into  one  of 
those  Free  Mason  lodges,  —  a  little  peek-hole  in  the 
door,  and  God  shoving  the  cover  back  to  see  if 
you  know  the  signs.  I  guess  God  isn't  so  trifling 
as  all  that,  —  having,  you  know,  a  lot  of  signs  and 
getting  ducked  under  water  three  times  and  all  that 
business.  I  don't  exactly  know  what  His  way  is, 
but  I'll  bet  it  isn't  any  way  that  you'd  have  to  laugh 
at  if  you  saw  it  —  like  as  if,  now,  you  saw  old 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         495 

man  Wright  and  God  making  signs  to  each  other 
through  the  door,  and  Wright  saying :  — 

" «  Eeny  meeny  miny  ?no  ! 
Cracky  feeny  finy  fo  ! ' 

and  God  looking  in  a  little  book  to  see  if  he  got  all 
the  words  right." 

"  Anyway,  I'm  glad  you  weren't  baptised,  after 
what  Father  said  to-day." 

"  You'll  be  gladder  still  when  you  get  out  there 
where  they  got  a  full-grown  man's  God." 

They  talked  on  of  many  things,  chiefly  of  the 
wonder  of  their  love  —  that  each  should  actually 
be  each  and  the  two  have  come  together  —  until 
a  full  yellow  moon  came  up,  seemingly  from  the 
farther  side  of  the  hill  in  front  of  them.  When  at 
last  its  light  flooded  the  road  so  that  it  lay  off 
to  the  north  like  a  broad,  gray  ribbon  flung  over 
the  black  land,  they  set  out  again,  galloping  side 
by  side  mile  after  mile,  scanning  sharply  the  road 
ahead  and  its  near  sides. 

Down  out  of  Pine  Valley  they  went,  and  over 
more  miles  of  gray  alkali  desert  toward  a  line  of 
hills  low  and  black  in  the  north. 

They  came  to  these,  followed  the  road  out  of  the 
desert  through  a  narrow  gap,  and  passed  into  the 
Mountain  Meadows,  reining  in  their  horses  as  they 
did  so. 

Before  them  the  Meadows  stretched  between  two 
ranges  of  low,  rocky  hills,  narrow  at  first  but  widen- 


496         THE  LIONS  OF   THE  LORD 

ing  gradually  from  the  gap  through  which  they  had 
come.  But  the  ground  where  the  long,  rich  grass 
had  once  grown  was  now  barren,  gray  and  ugly  in 
the  moonlight,  cut  into  deep  gullies  and  naked  of 
all  but  a  scant  growth  of  sage-brush  which  the  moon 
was  silvering,  and  a  few  clumps  of  shadowy  scrub- 
oak  along  the  base  of  the  hills  on  either  side. 

Instinctively  they  stopped,  speaking  in  low  tones. 
And  then  there  came  to  them  out  of  the  night's 
silence  a  strange,  weird  beating;  hollow,  muffled, 
slow,  and  rhythmic,  but  penetrating  and  curiously 
exciting,  like  another  pulse  cunningly  playing  upon 
their  own  to  make  them  beat  more  rapidly.  The 
girl  pulled  her  horse  close  in  by  his,  but  he  reas 
sured  her. 

"  It's  Indians  —  they  must  be  holding  the  funeral 
of  some  chief.  But  no  matter  —  these  Indians 
aren't  any  more  account  than  prairie-dogs." 

They  rode  on  slowly,  the  funeral-drum  sounding 
nearer  as  they  went. 

Then  far  up  the  meadow  by  the  roadside  they 
could  see  the  hard,  square  lines  of  the  cross  in  the 
moonlight.  Slower  still  they  went,  while  the  drum 
beats  became  louder,  until  they  seemed  to  fall  upon 
their  own  ear-drums. 

"  Could  he  have  come  to  this  dreadful  place  ?  " 
she  asked,  almost  in  a  whisper. 

"We  haven't  passed  him,  that's  sure;  and  I've 
got  a  notion  he  did.  I've  heard  him  talk  about  this 
cross  off  and  on  —  it's  been  a  good  deal  in  his 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         497 

mind  —  and  maybe  he  was  a  little  out  of  his  head. 
But  we'll  soon  see." 

They  walked  their  horses  up  a  little  ascent,  and 
the  cross  stood  out  more  clearly  against  the  sky. 
They  approached  it  slowly,  leaning  forward  to  peer 
all  about  it;  but  the  shadows  lay  heavy  at  its  base, 
and  from  a  little  distance  they  could  distinguish 
no  outline. 

But  at  last  they  were  close  by  and  could  pierce 
the  gloom,  and  there  at  the  foot  of  the  cross, 
beside  the  cairn  of  stones  that  helped  to  support  it, 
was  a  little  huddled  bit  of  blackness.  It  moved  as 
they  looked,  and  they  knew  the  voice  that  came 
from  it. 

"  O  God,  I  am  tired  and  ready !  Take  me  and 
burn  me !  " 

She  was  off  her  horse  and  quickly  at  his  side. 
Follett,  to  let  them  be  alone,  led  the  horses  to  the 
spring  below.  It  was  almost  gone  now,  only  the 
feeblest  trickle  of  a  rivulet  remaining.  The  once 
green  meadows  had  behaved,  indeed,  as  if  a  curse 
were  put  upon  them.  Haidly  had  grass  grown  or 
water  run  through  it  since  the  day  that  Israel 
wrought  there.  When  he  had  tied  the  horses  he 
heard  Prudence  calling  him. 

"  I'm  afraid  he's  delirous,"  she  said,  when  he 
reached  her  side.  "  He  keeps  hearing  cries  and 
shots,  and  sees  a  woman's  hair  waving  before  him, 
and  he's  afraid  of  something  back  of  him.  What 
can  we  do  ?  " 


498         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

At  the  foot  of  the  cross  the  little  man  was  again 
sounding  his  endless  prayer. 

"  Bow  me,  bend  me,  break  me,  for  I  have  been 
soul-proud.  Burn  me  out  —  " 

She  knelt  by  his  side,  trying  to  soothe  him. 

"  Father  —  it's  all   right  —  it's   Prudence  —  " 

But  at  her  name  he  uttered  a  cry  with  such  terror 
in  it  that  she  shuddered  and  was  still.  Then  he 
began  to  mutter  incoherently,  and  she  heard  her  own 
name  repeated  many  times. 

"  If  that  awful  beating  would  only  stop,"  she 
said  to  Follett,  who  had  now  brought  water  in  the 
curled  brim  of  his  hat.  She  tried  to  have  the  little 
man  drink.  He  swallowed  some  of  the  water  from 
the  hat-brim,  shivering  as  he  did  so. 

"We  ought  to  have  a  fire,"  she  said.  Follett 
began  to  gather  twigs  and  sage-brush,  and  presently 
had  a  blaze  in  front  of  them. 

In  the  light  of  the  fire  the  little  man  could  see 
their  faces,  and  he  became  suddenly  coherent,  smil 
ing  at  them  in  the  old  way. 

"  Why  have  you  come  so  far  in  the  night?  "  he 
asked  Prudence,  taking  one  of  her  cool  hands  be 
tween  his  own  that  burned. 

"  But,  you  poor  little  father !  why  have  you  come, 
when  you  should  be  home  in  bed  ?  You  are  burning 
with  fever." 

"  Yes,  yes,  dear,  but  it's  over  now.  This  is  the 
end.  I  came  here  —  to  be  here  —  I  came  to  say 
my  last  prayer  in  the  body.  And  they  will  come  to 
find  me  here.  You  must  go  before  they  come." 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         499 

"Who  will  find  you?" 

"  They  from  the  Church.  I  didn't  mean  to  do 
it,  but  when  I  was  on  my  feet  something  forced  it 
out  of  me.  I  knew  what  they  would  do,  but  I  was 
ready  to  die,  and  I  hoped  I  could  awaken  some  of 
them." 

"  But  no  one  shall  hurt  you." 

"  Don't  tempt  me  to  stay  any  longer,  dear,  even 
if  they  would  let  me.  Oh,  you  don't  know,  you 
don't  know  —  and  that  Devil's  drumming  over  there 
to  madden  me  as  on  that  other  night.  But  it's  just 
—  my  God,  how  just !  " 

"  Come  away,  then.  Ruel  will  find  your  horse, 
and  we'll  ride  home." 

"  It's  too  late  —  don't  ask  me  to  leave  my  hell 
now.  It  would  only  follow  me.  It  was  this  way 
that  night  —  the  night  before  —  the  beating  got 
into  my  blood  and  hammered  on  my  brain  till 
I  didn't  know.  Prudence,  I  must  tell  you  —  every 
thing— 

He  glanced  at  Follett  appealingly,  as  he  had 
looked  at  the  others  when  he  left  the  platform  that 
day,  beseeching  some  expression  of  friendliness. 

"  Yes,  I  must  tell  you  —  everything."  But  his 
face  lighted  as  Follett  interrupted  him. 

"  You  tell  her,"  said  Follett,  doggedly,  "  how  you 
saved  her  that  day  and  kept  her  like  your  own  and 
brought  her  up  to  be  a  good  woman  —  that's  what 
you  tell  her."  The  gratitude  in  the  little  man's 
eyes  had  grown  with  each  word. 

"  Yes,  yes,  dear,  I  have  loved  you  like  my  own 


500         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

little  child,  but  your  father  and  mother  were  killed 
here  that  day  —  and  I  found  you  and  loved  you 
—  such  a  dear,  forlorn  little  girl  —  will  you  hate 
me  now?  "  he  broke  off  anxiously.  She  had  both 
his  hands  in  her  own. 

"  But  why,  how  could  I  hate  you  ?  You  are  my 
dear  little  sorry  father  —  all  I've  known.  I  shall 
always  love  you." 

"  That  will  be  good  to  take  with  me,"  he  said, 
smiling  again.  "  It's  all  I've  got  to  take  —  it's  all 
I've  had  since  the  day  I  found  you.  You  are  good," 
he  said,  turning  to  Follett. 

"  Oh,  shucks !  "  answered  Follett. 

A  smile  of  rare  contentment  played  over  the  little 
man's  face. 

In  the  silence  that  followed,  the  funeral-drum 
came  booming  in  upon  them  over  the  ridge,  and 
once  they  saw  an  Indian  from  the  encampment 
standing  on  top  of  the  hill  to  look  down  at  their 
fire.  Then  the  little  man  spoke  again. 

"  You  will  go  with  him,"  he  said  to  Prudence. 
"  He  will  take  you  out  of  here  and  back  to  your 
mother's  people." 

"  She's  going  to  marry  me,"  said  Follett.  The 
little  man  smiled  at  this. 

"  It  is  right  —  the  Gentile  has  come  to  take  you 
away.  The  Lord  is  cunning  in  His  vengeance.  I 
felt  it  must  be  so  when  I  saw  you  together." 

After  this  he  was  so  quiet  for  a  time  that  they 
thought  he  was  sleeping.  But  presently  he  grew 
restless  again,  and  said  to  Follett :  — 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         501 

"  I  want  you  to  have  me  buried  here.  Up  there 
to  the  north,  three  hundred  yards  from  here  on 
the  right,  is  a  dwarf  cedar  standing  alone.  Straight 
over  the  ridge  from  that  and  half-way  down  the 
other  side  is  another  cedar  growing  at  the  foot  of 
a  ledge.  Below  that  ledge  is  a  grave.  There  are 
stones  piled  flat,  and  a  cross  cut  in  the  one  toward 
the  cedar.  Make  a  grave  beside  that  one,  and  put 
me  in  it  —  just  as  I  am.  Remember  that  —  un- 
cofHned.  It  must  be  that  way,  remember.  There's 
a  little  book  here  in  this  pocket.  Let  it  stay  with 
me  —  but  surely  uncoffined,  remember,  as  —  as  the 
rest  of  them  were." 

"  But,  father,  why  talk  so  ?  You  are  going  home 
with  us." 

"  There,  dear,  it's  all  right,  and  you'll  feel  kind 
about  me  always  when  you  remember  me?  " 

«  Don't,  —  don't  talk  so." 

"  If  that  beating  would  only  stay  out  of  my  brain 
—  the  thing  is  crawling  behind  me  again !    Oh,  no, 
not  yet  —  not  yet !    Say  this  with  me,  dear :  — 
'  The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd;  I  shall  not  want. 
'  He  makcth  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pastures: 
he  Icadeth  me  beside  the  still  waters.' ' 

She  said  the  psalm  with  him,  and  he  grew  quiet 
again. 

"  You  will  go  away  with  your  husband,  and  go 
at  once — "  He  sat  up  suddenly  from  where  he 
had  been  lying,  the  light  of  a  new  design  in  his 
eyes. 

"  Come,  —  you  will  need  protection  now  —  I  must 


502         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

marry  you  at  once.  Surely  that  will  be  an  office 
acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God.  And  you  will  re 
member  me  better  for  it  —  and  kinder.  Come,  Pru 
dence  ;  come,  Ruel !  " 

"  But,  father,  you  are  sick,  and  so  weak  —  let 
us  wait." 

"  It  will  give  me  such  joy  to  do  it  —  and  this 
is  the  last." 

She  looked  at  Follett  questioningly,  but  gave 
him  her  hand  silently  when  he  arose  from  the  ground 
where  he  had  been  sitting. 

"  He'd  like  it,  and  it's  what  we  want,  —  all 
simple,"  he  said. 

In  the  light  of  the  fire  they  stood  with  hands 
joined,  and  the  little  man,  too,  got  to  his  feet,  help 
ing  himself  up  by  the  cairn  against  which  he  had 
been  leaning. 

Then,  with  the  unceasing  beats  of  the  funeral- 
drum  in  their  ears,  he  made  them  man  and  wife. 

"  Do  you,  Ruel,  take  Prudence  by  the  right  hand 
to  receive  her  unto  yourself  to  be  your  lawful  and 
wedded  wife,  and  you  to  be  her  lawful  and  wedded 
husband  for  time  and  eternity  —  " 

Thus  far  he  had  followed  the  formula  of  his 
Church,  but  now  he  departed  from  it  with  some 
thing  like  defiance  coming  up  in  his  voice. 

"  —  with  a  covenant  and  promise  on  your  part 
that  you  will  cleave  to  her  and  to  none  other,  so 
help  you  God,  taking  never  another  wife  in  spite 
of  promise  or  threat  of  any  priesthood  whatsoever, 


THE  LIONS   OF    THE  LORD         503 

cleaving  unto  her  and  her  alone  with  singleness  of 
heart?" 

When  they  had  made  their  responses,  and  while 
the  drum  was  beating  upon  his  heart,  he  pronounced 
them  man  and  wife,  sealing  upon  them  "  the  bless 
ings  of  the  holy  resurrection,  with  power  to  come 
forth  in  the  morning  clothed  with  glory  and  im 
mortality." 

When  he  had  spoken  the  final  words  of  the  cere 
mony,  he  seemed  to  lose  himself  from  weakness, 
reaching  out  his  hands  for  support.  They  helped 
him  down  on  to  the  saddle-blanket  that  Follett  had 
brought,  and  the  latter  now  went  for  more  wood. 

When  he  came  back  they  were  again  reciting  the 
psalm  that  had  seemed  to  quiet  the  sufferer. 

" '  Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  I  zvill  fear  no  evil:  for  thou  art 
with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me/ ' 

Follett  spread  the  other  saddle-blanket  over  him. 
He  lay  on  his  side,  his  face  to  the  fire,  one  moment 
saying  over  the  words  of  the  psalm,  but  the  next 
listening  in  abject  terror  to  something  the  others 
could  not  hear. 

"  I  wonder  you  don't  hear  their  screams,"  he 
said,  in  one  of  these  moments ;  "  but  their  blood 
is  not  upon  you."  Then,  after  a  little :  — 

"  See,  it  is  growing  light  over  there.  Now  they 
will  soon  be  here.  They  will  know  where  I  had 
to  come,  and  they  will  have  a  spade."  He  seemed 
to  be  fainting  in  his  last  weakness. 

Another  hour  they  sat  silently  beside  him.    Slowly 


504         TUK    I  JONS   Ol<    THE   LORD 

the  dark  over  the  eastern  lull  lightened  to  a  gray. 
'I  lien  llic  gray  paled  until  ;i  Hush  of  pink  was  there, 
and  they  could  sec  about  them  in  the  chill  of  the 

H KM  n mi' 

Then  came  a  silence  that  startled  them  all.    The 

dinm  had  slopped,  .ind  the  night-long  vibrations 
<  c.i  ed  n  -in  theii  cars. 

I  hc\-  loi.l.ed  tn \\.nd  the  little  man  with  relief, 
for  the  diuiimiiii!',  had  tortured  him.  Hut  his 
htcalhinr  was  shallow  and  incgnlar  now,  and  from 
tune  to  time  they  eoiild  hear  a  rattle  in  his  throat. 
Mis  eyes,  when  he  opened  them,  were  looking  far 
oil.  I  le  was  turning  restlessly  and  muttering1  again. 
She  took  his  hands  and  loiind  them  cold  and  moist. 
Mis  lever  must  have  broken,"  she  said,  hope 
fully.  The  little  man  opened  Ins  eves  to  look  up 
at  hct ,  and  spoke-,  though  absently,  and  not  as  if 
he  saw  her. 

"  They  will  have  a  spade  with  them  when  they 
come,  nevei  tear.  And  the  spot  must  not  be  for 
gotten  tlnce  bundled  yards  north  to  the  dwarf 
cedar,  then  straight  over  the  ridge  and  half-way 
down,  to  the  other  eedar  below  the  sandstone  — 
and  uncoltincd,  with  the  book  here  in  this  pocket 
whctc  I  have  it.  *  Thou  prepares!  a  table  before 
me  in  the  presence  of  mine  enemies:  thon  anointest 
mv  head  \\tth  oil;  my  cup  runneth  over.  Surely 
goodness  and  mcicv  shall  follow  me  all  the  days 
ol  in\  life:  and  1  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  the 
I  .oid  lorcvcr.'  ' 

lie  started  up  in  terror  ol  something  that  seemed 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         505 

to  be  behind  him,  but  fell  back,  and  a  moment  later 
was  rambling-  off  through  some  sermon  of  the 
bygone  year. 

"  Sometimes,  brethren,  it  has  seemed  to  my  inner 
soul  that  Christ  came  not  alone  to  reveal  God  to 
man,  but  to  reveal  man  to  God;  taking  on  that 
human  form  to  reconcile  the  Father  to  our  sins. 
Sometimes  I  have  thought  He  might  so  well  have 
done  this  that  (Jod  would  view  our  sins  as  we  view 
the  faults  of  our  well-loved  little  children  —  loving 
us  through  all  —  perhaps  touched  —  even  more 
amused  than  offended,  at  our  childish  stumblings  in 
these  blind,  twisted  paths  of  right  and  wrong; 
knowing  at  the  last  He  should  save  the  least  of  us 
who  have  been  most  awkward.  But,  oh,  brethren ! 
beware  of  the  sin  for  which  you  cannot  win  forgive 
ness  from  that  other  God,  that  spirit  of  the  true 
Father,  fixed  forever  in  the  breast  of  each  of  you." 

The  light  was  coming  swiftly.  Already  their  fire 
had  paled,  and  the  embers,  but  a  little  before  glowing 
red,  seemed  now  to  be  only  white  ashes. 

From  over  the  ridge  back  of  them,  whence  had 
come  the  notes  of  the  funeral-drum,  an  Indian  now 
slouched  toward  them,  drawn  by  curiosity ;  stopping 
to  look,  then  advancing,  to  stop  again. 

At  length  he  stood  close  by  them,  silent,  gazing. 
Then,  as  if  understanding,  he  spoke  to  Follett. 

"  Big  sick  —  go  get  big  medicine!  Then  you 
give  chitnip!  " 

He  ran  swiftly  bark,  disappearing  over  the  ridge. 

The  sick  man  was  now  delirious  again,  muttering 


506         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

disjointed  texts  and  bits  of  old  sermons  with  which 
the  Lute  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  young  and  ardent,  had 
once  thrilled  the  Saints. 

"  '  For  without  shedding  of  blood  there  shall  be 
no  remission  '  —  '  but  where  are  now  your  prophets 
which  prophesied  unto  you,  saying  the  King  of 
Babylon  shall  not  come  against  you  nor  against  this 
land  '  —  '  but  I  say  unto  you  which  hear,  Love  your 
enemies,  do  good  to  them  which  hate  you,  bless 
them  that  curse  you,  and  pray  for  them  which 
despitefully  use  you.'  That  is  where  the  stain  was, 
—  the  bloody  stain  that  held  the  leaves  together  — 
but  I  tore  them  apart  and  read,  —  " 

The  Indian  who  had  come  to  them  first  now  ap 
peared  again  over  the  ridge,  and  with  him  another. 
The  second  was  accoutered  lavishly  with  a  girdle 
of  brilliant  feathers,  anklets  of  shell,  and  bracelets 
of  silver,  his  face  barred  by  alternating  streaks  of 
vermilion  and  yellow,  a  lank  braid  of  his  black 
hair  hanging  either  side  of  his  face,  and  on  his  head 
the  horns  and  painted  skull  of  a  buffalo.  In  one 
hand  was  a  wand  of  red-dyed  wood  with  a  beaded 
and  quilled  amulet  at  the  end.  The  other  down 
by  his  side  held  something  they  did  not  at  first 
notice. 

The  little  man  was  growing  weaker  each  moment, 
but  still  muttered  as  he  turned  restlessly  on  the 
blanket. 

"  '  And  as  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you, 
do  ye  also  to  them  likewise.' '  His  quick  ear  detect- 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         507 

ing  the  light  step  of  the  approaching  Indians,  he 
sat  up  and  grasped  Follett's  arm. 

"What  do  they  want?  Let  no  one  come  now. 
Death  is  here  and  I  am  going  out  to  meet  it  — 
I  am  glad  to  go  —  so  tired!  " 

Follett,  looking  up  at  the  two  Indians  now  stand 
ing  awkwardly  by  them,  said,  in  a  low  tone,  with 
a  wave  of  his  free  arm : 

"Vamose!" 

"Big  medicine!'1  grunted  the  Indian  who  had 
first  come  to  them,  pointing  to  his  companion.  In 
an  instant  this  other  was  before  the  sick  man,  chant 
ing  and  making  passes  with  his  wand. 

Then,  before  Follett  could  rise,  the  Indian's  other 
hand  came  up,  and  they  saw,  slowly  waved  before 
the  staring  eyes  of  the  little  man,  a  long  mass  of 
yellow  hair  that  writhed  and  ran  in  little  gleaming 
waves  as  if  it  lived.  It  was  tied  about  the  wrist  of 
the  Indian  with  strips  of  scarlet  flannel  —  tied  below 
a  broad  silver  bracelet  that  glittered  from  the 
bronzed  arm. 

The  face  of  the  sick  man  had  a  moment  before 
been  tranquil,  almost  smiling;  but  now  his  eyes 
followed  the  hair  with  something  of  fascination  in 
them.  Then  a  shade  of  terror  darkened  the  peaceful 
look,  like  the  shadow  of  a  cloud  hurried  by  the 
wind  over  a  fair  green  garden. 

But  with  its  passing  there  came  again  into  his 
eyes  the  light  of  sanity.  He  gazed  at  the  hair, 
breathless,  still  in  wonder;  and  then  very  slowly 
there  grew  over  his  face  the  look  of  an  unearthly 


508         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

peace,  so  that  they  who  were  by  him  deferred  the 
putting  aside  of  the  Indian.  With  eyes  wide  open, 
full  of  a  calm  they  could  not  understand,  he  looked 
and  smiled,  his  wan  face  flushing  again  in  that 
last  time.  Then,  reaching  suddenly  out,  his  long 
white  fingers  tangled  themselves  feebly  in  the  golden 
skein,  and  with  a  little  loving  uplift  of  the  eyes  he 
drew  it  to  his  breast.  A  few  seconds  he  held  it 
so,  with  an  eagerness  that  told  of  some  sweet  and 
mighty  relief  come  to  his  soul,  —  some  illumination 
of  grace  that  had  seemed  to  be  struck  by  the  first 
sunrays  from  that  hair  into  his  wondering  eyes. 

Slowly,  then,  the  little  smile  faded,  —  the  wistful 
light  of  it  dying  for  the  last  time.  The  tired  head 
fell  suddenly  back  and  the  wan  lids  closed  over 
lifeless  eyes. 

Still  the  hand  clutched  the  hair  to  the  quiet  heart, 
the  yellow  strands  curling  peacefully  through  the 
dead  fingers  as  if  in  forgiveness.  From  the  look 
of  rest  on  the  still  face  it  was  as  if,  in  his  years  of 
service  and  sacrifice,  the  little  man  had  learned  how 
to  forgive  his  own  sin  in  the  flash  of  those  last 
heart-beats  when  his  soul  had  rushed  out  to  welcome 
Death. 

Prudence  had  arisen  before  the  end  came  and  was 
standing  in  front  of  the  Indian  to  motion  him  away. 
Follett  was  glad  she  did  not  see  the  eyes  glaze  nor 
the  head  drop.  He  leaned  forward  and  gently 
loosed  the  limp  fingers  from  the  yellow  tangle.  Then 
he  sprang  quickly  up  and  put  his  arm  about  Pru- 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         509 

deuce.    The  two  Indians  backed  off  in  some  dismay. 

The  one  who  had  first  come  to  them  spoke  again. 
"Big  medicine!     You  give  some  chitcup?" 
"  No  —  no !     Got  no  chitcup !     Vamose!  " 
They  turned  silently  and  trotted  back  over  the 

ridge. 

"  Come,   sit  here  close  by  the  fire,   dear  —  no, 

around  this  side.     It's  all  over  now." 

"Oh!     Oh!     My  poor,  sorry  little  father  —  he 

was  so  good  to  me!  "     She  threw  herself  on  the 

ground,  sobbing. 

Follett  spread  a  saddle-blanket  over  the  huddled 

figure  at  the  foot  of  the  cross.     Then  he  went  back 

to  take  her  in  his  arms  and  give  her  such  comfort 

as  he  could. 


CHAPTER   XLIII. 

The  Gentile  Carries   off  His  Spoil 

HALF  an  hour  later  they  heard  the  sound  of 
voices  and  wheels.     Follett  looked  up  and 
saw  a  light  wagon  with  four  men  in  it  driv 
ing  into  the  Meadows  from  the  south.     The  driver 
was  Seth  Wright;    the  man  beside  him  he  knew 
to  be  Bishop  Snow,  the  one  they  called  the  Entabla 
ture  of  Truth.     The  two  others  he  had  seen  in 
Amalon,  but  he  did  not  know  their  names. 

He  got  up  and  went  forward  when  the  wagon 
stopped,  leaning  casually  on  the  wheel. 

"  He's  already  dead,  but  you  can  help  me  bury 
him  as  soon  as  I  get  my  wife  out  of  the  way  around 
that  oak-brush  —  I  see  you've  brought  along  a 
spade." 

The  men  in  the  wagon  looked  at  each  other,  and 
then  climbed  slowly  out. 

"  Now  who  could  'a'  left  that  there  spade  in  the 
wagon  ?  "  began  the  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains, 
a  look  of  perplexity  clouding  his  ingenuous  face. 

The  Entablature  of  Truth  was  less  disposed  for 
idle  talk. 

510 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE   LORD         511 

"  Who  did  you  say  you'd  get  out  of  the  way, 
young  man?  " 

"  My  wife,  Mrs.  Ruel  Follett." 

"  Meaning  Prudence  Rae?  " 

"  Meaning  her  that  was  Prudence  Rae." 

"Oh!" 

The  ruddy-faced  Bishop  scanned  the  horizon  with 
a  dreamy,  speculative  eye,  turning  at  length  to  his 
companions. 

"  We  better  get  to  this  burying,"  he  said. 

"  Wait  a  minute,"  said  Follett. 

They  saw  him  go  to  Prudence,  raise  her  from  the 
ground,  put  a  saddle-blanket  over  his  arm,  and  lead 
her  slowly  up  the  road  around  a  turn  that  took  them 
beyond  a  clump  of  the  oak-brush. 

"It  won't  do!"  said  Wright,  with  a  meaning 
glance  at  the  Entablature  of  Truth,  quite  as  if  he 
had  divined  his  thought. 

"  I'd  like  to  know  why  not?  "  retorted  this  good 
man,  aggressively. 

"Because  times  has  changed;    this  ain't  '57." 

"  It'll  almost  do  itself,"  insisted  Snow.  "  What 
say,  Glines  ?  "  and  he  turned  to  one  of  the  others. 

"  Looks  all  right,"  answered  the  man  addressed. 
"  By  heck !  but  that's  a  purty  saddle  he  carries !  " 

"What  say,  Taggart?" 

"  For  God's  sake,  no,  Bishop !  No  —  I  got  enough 
dead  faces  looking  at  me  now  from  this  place.  I'm 
ha'nted  into  hell  a'ready,  like  he  said  he  was  yister- 
day.  By  God!  I  sometimes  a'most  think  I'll  have 


512         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

my  ears  busted  and  my  eyes  put  out  to  git  away 
from  the  bloody  things !  " 

"  Ho!  Scared,  are  you?  Well,  I'll  do  it  myself. 
You  don't  need  to  help." 

"  Better  let  well  enough  alone,  Brother  Warren !  " 
interposed  Wright. 

"  But  it  ain't  well  enough !  Think  of  that  girl 
going  to  a  low  cuss  of  a  Gentile  when  Brigham 
wants  her.  Why,  think  of  letting  such  a  critter 
get  away,  even  if  Brigham  didn't  want  her!  " 

"  You  know  they  got  Brother  Brigham  under 
indictment  for  murder  now,  account  of  that  Aiken 
party." 

"What  of  it?    He'll  get  off." 

"That  he  will,  but  it's  because  he's  Brigham. 
You  ain't.  You're  just  a  south  country  Bishop. 
Don't  you  know  he'd  throw  you  to  the  Gentile  courts 
as  a  sop  quicker'n  a  wink  if  he  got  a  chance,  —  just 
like  he'll  do  with  old  John  D.  Lee  the  minute  George 
A.  peters  out  so  the  chain  will  be  broke  between 
Lee  and  Brigham  ?  " 

"  And  maybe  this  cuss  has  got  friends,"  suggested 
Glines. 

"  Who'd  know  but  the  girl  ? "  Snow  insisted. 
"  And  Brother  Brigham  would  fix  her  all  right. 
Is  the  household  of  faith  to  be  spoiled  ?  " 

"  Well,  they  got  a'  railroad  running  through  it 
now,"  said  Wright,  "  and  a  telegraph,  and  a  lot  of 
soldiers.  So  don't  you  count  on  me,  Brother  Snow, 
at  any  stage  of  it  now  or  afterwards.  I  got  a  pretty 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         513 

sizable  family  that  would  hate  to  lose  me.  Look 
out!  Here  he  comes." 

Follett  now  came  up,  speaking  in  a  cheerful  man 
ner  that  nevertheless  chilled  even  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  good  Bishop  Snow. 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  just  by  way  of  friendly  advice 
to  you,  —  like  as  not  I'll  be  stepping  in  front  of 
some  of  you  in  the  next  hour.  But  it  isn't  going 
to  worry  me  any,  and  I'll  tell  you  why.  I'd  feel 
awful  sad  for  you  all  if  anything  was  to  happen 
to  me,  —  if  the  Injuns  got  me,  or  I  was  took  bad 
with  a  chill,  or  a  jack-rabbit  crept  up  and  bit  me 
to  death,  or  anything.  You  see,  there's  a  train 
of  twenty-five  big  J.  Murphy  wagons  will  be  along 
here  over  the  San  Bernardino  trail.  They  are  com 
ing  out  of  their  way,  almost  any  time  now,  on 
purpose  to  pick  me  up.  Fact  is,  my  ears  have  been 
pricking  up  all  morning  to  hear  the  old  bull-whips 
crack.  There  were  thirty-one  men  in  the  train  when 
they  went  down,  and  there  may  be  more  coming 
back.  It's  a  train  of  Ezra  Calkins,  my  adopted 
father.  You  see,  they  know  I've  been  here  on  special 
business,  and  I  sent  word  the  other  day  I  was  about 
due  to  finish  it,  and  they  wasn't  to  go  through 
coming  back  without  me.  Well,  that  bull  outfit 
will  stop  for  me  —  and  they'll  get  me  or  get  pay 
for  me.  That's  their  orders.  And  it  isn't  a  train 
of  women  and  babies,  either.  They're  such  an  out 
rageous  rough  lot,  quick-tempered  and  all  like  that, 
that  they  wouldn't  believe  the  truth  that  I  had  an 
accident  —  not  if  you  swore  it  on  a  stack  of  Mor- 


5H         THE  LIONS   OF  THE  LORD 

mon  Bibles  topped  off  by  the  life  of  Joe  Smith. 
They'd  go  right  out  and  make  Amalon  look  like 
a  whole  cavayard  of  razor-hoofed  buffaloes  had 
raced  back  and  forth  over  it.  And  the  rest  of  the 
two  thousand  men  on  Ezra  Calkins' s  pay-roll  would 
come  hanging  around  pestering  you  all  with  Win 
chesters.  They'd  make  you  scratch  gravel,  sure! 

"  Now  let's  get  to  work.  I  see  you'll  be  awful 
careful  and  tender  with  me.  I'll  bet  I  don't  get 
even  a  sprained  ankle.  You  folks  get  him,  and  I'll 
show  you  where  he  said  the  place  was." 

Two  hours  later  Follett  came  running  back  to 
where  Prudence  lay  on  the  saddle-blanket  in  the 
warm  morning  sun. 

"The  wagon-train  is  coming  —  hear  the  whips? 
Now,  look  here,  why  don't  we  go  right  on  with  it, 
in  one  of  the  big  wagons?  They're  coming  back 
light,  and  we  can  have  a  J.  Murphy  that  is  bigger 
than  a  whole  lot  of  houses  in  this  country.  You 
don't  want  to  go  back  there,  do  you  ?  " 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  No,  it  would  hurt  me  to  see  it  now.  I  should 
be  expecting  to  see  him  at  every  turn.  Oh,  I  couldn't 
stand  that  —  poor  sorry  little  father !  " 

"Well,  then,  leave  it  all;  leave  the  place  to  the 
women,  and  good  riddance,  and  come  off  with  me. 
I'll  send  one  of  the  boys  back  with  a  pack-mule 
for  any  plunder  you  want  to  bring  away,  and  you 
needn't  ever  see  the  place  again." 

She  nestled  in  his  arms,  feeling  in  her  grief  the 
comfort  of  his  tenderness. 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         515 

"  Yes,  take  me  away  now." 

The  big  whips  could  be  heard  plainly,  crack 
ing  like  rifle-shots,  and  shortly  came  the  creaking 
and  hollow  rumbling  of  the  wagons  and  the  cries  of 
the  teamsters  to  their  six-mule  teams.  There  were 
shouts  and  calls,  snatches  of  song  from  along  the 
line,  then  the  rattling  of  harness,  and  in  a  cloud 
of  dust  the  train  was  beside  them,  the  teamsters 
sitting  with  rounded  shoulders  up  under  the  bowed 
covers  of  the  big  wagons. 

A  hail  came  from  the  rear  of  the  train,  and  a 
bronzed  and  bearded  man  in  a  leather  jacket  can 
tered  up  on  a  small  pony. 

"  Hello  there,  Rool !  I'm  whoopin'  glad  to  see 
you!" 

He  turned  to  the  driver  of  the  foremost  wagon. 

"  All  right,  boys !    We'll  make  a  layby  for  noon." 

Follett  shook  hands  with  him  heartily,  and  turned 
to  Prudence. 

"  This  is  my  wife,  Lew.  Prudence,  this  is  Lew 
Steffins,  our  wagon-master." 

"  Shoo,  now !  —  you  young  cub  —  married  ? 
Well,  I'm  right  glad  to  see  Mrs.  Rool  Follett  —  and 
bless  your  heart,  little  girl !  " 

"  Did  you  stop  back  there  at  the  settlement?  " 

"  Yes ;  and  they  said  you'd  hit  the  pike  about 
dark  last  night,  to  chase  a  crazy  man.  I  told  them 
I'd  be  back  with  the  whackers  if  I  didn't  find  you. 
I  was  afraid  some  trouble  was  on,  and  here  you're 
only  married  to  the  sweetest  thing  that  ever  —  why, 
she's  been  crying !  Anything  wrong  ?  " 


516         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"No;  never  mind  now,  anyway.  We're  going 
on  with  you,  Lew." 

"  Bully  proud  to  have  you.  There's  that  third 
wagon  —  " 

"  Could  I  ride  in  that  ?  "  asked  the  girl,  looking 
at  the  big  lumbering  conveyance  doubtfully. 

"  It  carried  six  thousands  pounds  of  freight  to 
Los  Angeles,  little  woman,"  answered  Steffins, 
promptly,  "  and  I  wouldn't  guess  you  to  heft  over 
one  twenty-eight  or  thirty  at  the  outside.  I'll  have 
the  box  filled  in  with  spruce  boughs  and  a  lot  of 
nice  bunch-grass,  and  put  some  comforts  over  that, 
and  you'll  be  all  snug  and  tidy.  You  won't  starve, 
either,  not  while  there's  meat  running." 

"  And  say,  Lew,  she's  got  some  stuff  back  at  that 
place.  Let  the  extra  hand  ride  back  with  a  pack- 
jack  and  bring  it  on.  She'll  tell  him  what  to  get." 

"  Sure!    Tom  Callahan  can  go." 

"  And  give  us  some  grub,  Lew.  I've  hardly  had 
a  bite  since  yesterday  morning." 

An  hour  later,  when  the  train  was  nearly  ready 
to  start,  Follett  took  his  wife  to  the  top  of  the  ridge 
and  showed  her,  a  little  way  below  them,  the  cedar 
at  the  foot  of  the  sandstone  ledge.  He  stayed  back, 
thinking  she  would  wish  to  be  there  alone.  But  when 
she  stood  by  the  new  grave  she  looked  up  and 
beckoned  to  him. 

"  I  wanted  you  by  me,"  she  said,  as  he  reached 
her  side.  "  I  never  knew  how  much  he  was  to 
me.  He  wasn't  big  and  strong  like  other  men, 
but  now  I  see  that  he  was  very  dear  and  more  than 


THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD         517 

I  suspected.  He  was  so  quiet  and  always  so  kind 
—  I  don't  remember  that  he  was  ever  stern  with  me 
once.  And  though  he  suffered  from  some  great 
sorrow  and  from  sickness,  he  never  complained.  He 
wouldn't  even  admit  he  was  sick,  and  he  always 
tried  to  smile  in  that  little  way  he  had,  so  gentle. 
Poor  sorry  little  father !  —  and  yesterday  not  one 
of  them  would  be  his  friend.  It  broke  my  heart 
to  see  him  there  so  wistful  when  they  turned  their 
backs  on  him.  Poor  little  man!  And  see,  here's 
another  grave  all  grown  around  with  sage  and  the 
stones  worn  smooth ;  but  there's  the  cross  he  spoke 
of.  It  must  be  some  one  that  he  wanted  to  lie 
beside.  Poor  little  sorry  father !  Oh,  you  will  have 
to  be  so  much  to  me!  " 

The  train  was  under  way  again.  In  the  box 
of  the  big  wagon,  on  a  springy  couch  of  spruce 
boughs  and  long  bunch-grass,  Prudence  lay  at  rest, 
hurt  by  her  grief,  yet  soothed  by  her  love,  her 
thoughts  in  a  whirl  about  her. 

Follett,  mounted  on  Dandy,  rode  beside  her 
wagon. 

"  Better  get  some  sleep  yourself,  Rool,"  urged 
Steffins. 

"  Can't,  Lew.  I  ain't  sleepy.  I'm  too  busy  think 
ing  about  things,  and  I  have  to  watch  out  for  my 
little  girl  there.  You  can't  tell  what  these  cusses 
might  do/' 

"  There's  thirty  of  us  watching  out  for  her  now, 
young  fellow." 


5i8         THE  LIONS   OF   THE  LORD 

"  There'll  be  thirty-one  till  we  get  out  of  this 
neighbourhood,  Lew." 

He  lifted  up  the  wagon-cover  softly  a  little  later, 
and  found  that  she  slept.  As  they  rode  on,  Steffins 
questioned  him. 

"  Did  you  make  that  surround  you  was  going  to 
make,  Rool?" 

"  No,  Lew,  I  couldn't.  Two  of  them  was  already 
under,  and,  honest,  I  couldn't  have  got  the  other 
one  any  more  than  you  could  have  shot  your  kid 
that  day  he  up-ended  the  gravy-dish  in  your  lap." 

"  Hell !  " 

"  That's  right !  I  hope  I  never  have  to  kill  any 
one,  Lew,  no  matter  how  much  I  got  a  right  to. 
I  reckon  it  always  leaves  uneasy  feelings  in  a  man's 
mind." 

Eight  days  later  a  tall,  bronzed  young  man  with 
yellow  hair  and  quick  blue  eyes,  in  what  an  ob 
servant  British  tourist  noted  in  his  journal  as  "  the 
not  unpicturesque  garb  of  a  border-ruffian,"  helped 
a  dazed  but  very  pretty  young  woman  on  to  the 
rear  platform  of  the  Pullman  car  attached  to  the 
east-bound  overland  express  at  Ogden. 

As  they  lingered  on  the  platform  before  the  train 
started  they  were  hailed  and  loudly  cheered,  averred 
the  journal  of  this  same  Briton,  "  by  a  crowd  of  the 
outlaw's  companions,  at  least  a  score  and  a  half  of 
most  disreputable-looking  wretches,  unshaven, 
roughly  dressed,  heavily  booted,  slouch-hatted  (they 
swung  their  hats  in  a  drunken  frenzy),  and  to  this 


THE  LIONS   OF    THE   LORD         519 

rough  ovation  the  girl,  though  seemingly  a  person 
of  some  decency,  waved  her  handkerchief  and  smiled 
repeatedly,  though  her  face  had  seemed  to  be  sad 
and  there  were  tears  in  her  eyes  at  that  very 
moment." 

At  this  response  from  the  girl,  the  journal  went 
on  to  say,  the  ruffians  had  redoubled  their  drunken 
pandemonium.  And  as  the  train  pulled  away,  to 
the  observant  tourist's  marked  relief,  the  young  out 
law  on  the  platform  had  waved  his  own  hat  and 
shouted  as  a  last  message  to  one  "  Lew,"  that  he 
"  must  not  let  Dandy  get  gandered  up,"  nor  forget 
"  to  tie  him  to  grass." 

Later,  as  the  train  shrieked  its  way  through  Echo 
Canon,  the  observant  tourist,  with  his  double- 
visored  plaid  cap  well  over  his  face,  pretending  to 
sleep,  overheard  the  same  person  across  the  aisle 
say  to  the  girl:  — 

"  Now  we're  on  our  own  property  at  last.  For 
the  next  sixty  hours  we'll  be  riding  across  our  own 
front  yard  —  and  there  aren't  any  keys  and  pass 
words  and  grips  here,  either  —  just  a  plain  Almighty 
God  with  no  nonsense  about  Him." 

Whereupon  had  been  later  added  to  the  journal  a 
note  to  the  effect  that  Americans  are  not  only  quite 
as  prone  to  vaunt  and  brag  and  tell  big  stories  as 
other  explorers  had  asserted,  but  that  in  the  West 
they  were  ready  blasphemers. 

Yet  the  couple  minded  not  the  observant  tourist, 
and  continued  to  enlarge  and  complicate  his  views 
of  American  life  to  the  very  bank  of  the  Missouri. 


520         THE  LIONS  OF  THE  LORD 

Unwittingly,  however,  for  they  knew  him  not  nor 
saw  him  nor  heard  him,  being  occupied  with  the 
matter  of  themselves. 

"  You'll  have  to  back  me  up  when  we  get  to 
Springfield,"  he  said  to  her  one  late  afternoon,  when 
they  neared  the  end  of  their  exciting  journey.  "  I've 
heard  that  old  Grandpa  Cor  son  is  mighty  peppery. 
He  might  take  you  away  from  me." 

Her  eyes  came  in  from  the  brown  rolling  of  the 
plain  outside  to  light  him  with  their  love;  and 
then,  the  lamps  having  not  yet  been  lighted,  the 
head  of  grace  nestled  suddenly  on  its  pillow  of 
brawn  with  only  a  little  tremulous  sigh  of  security 
for  answer.  . 

This  brought  his  arm  quickly  about  her  in  a  pro 
tecting  clasp,  plainly  in  the  sidelong  gaze  of  the 
now  scandalised  but  not  less  observant  tourist. 


THE   END. 


WHAT    THE    CRITICS    SAY   OF 

The  SPENDERS 


By  HARRY  LEON  WILSON,  Author  of  "The  Lions  of 
the  Lord*"  Red  silk  cloth,  rough  edges,  picture  cover*  Six 
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HARRY   THURSTON   PECK,  in  the  New  York  American,  says: 

"  The  very  best  two  books  written  by  Americans  during  the  past  year  have 
been  '  The  Spenders,'  by  Harry  Leon  Wilson,  and  '  The  Pit,'  by  Frank 
Norris." 

MARK  TWAIN  writes  to  the  author:  "  It  cost  me  my  day  yester 
day.  You  owe  me  $400.  But  never  mind,  I  forgive  you  for  the  book  s  sake." 

LOUISVILLE  COURIER-JOURNAL  says:  "  If  there  is  such  a  thing 
as  the  American  novel  of  a  new  method,  this  is  one.  Absolutely  to  be  en 
joyed  is  it  from  the  first  page  to  the  last,  founded  on  the  elemental  truth  that 
'  the  man  is  the  strongest  who,  Ancaean-like,  stands  with  his  feet  upon  the 
earth.'  It  is  the  strong  tale  of  three  generations,  and  told  in  the  romances 
of  the  grandson  and  granddaughter  of  the  original  rugged  pioneer  of  the 
Western  country,  Peter  Bines." 

THE  BOOKMAN  says:  "Uncle  Peter  is  a  well-drawn,  interesting, 
picturesque,  and,  above  all,  a  genuine  American  product.  .  .  .  The  de'noue- 
ment  is  one  that  would  be  well  worth  reading  for,  even  if  the  body  of  the 
book  were  dull." 

BROOKLYN  DAILY  EAGLE  says  :  "  It  is  coruscating  in  wit,  daring 
in  love,  and  biting  in  its  palpable  caricature  of  many  well-known  persons  in 
New  York  society;  but  it  is  so  very  much  more  than  a  clever  society 
novel  making  the  bid  of  audacity  for  ephemeral  craze." 

CHICAGO  RECORD-HERALD  says:  "Very  few  novels  of  the  day 
have  the  sterling  strength,  the  force,  and  the  roomy  outlook  of  Harry  Leon 
Wilson's  '  The  Spenders.'  Every  page  of  it  is  virile,  and,  what  is  more,  it 
combines  true  insight  into  men  with  a  strong  humor." 

CHRISTIAN  HERALD  says:  "The  character  drawing  throughout 
the  book  is  masterly,  but  Peter  Bines  deserves  a  slab  in  the  literary  Hall  of 
Fame." 


Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Co.,  Boston 


of  Etttle 


By  HARRY  LEON  WILSON      Full  page  and  text  illus 
trations  by  ROSE  CECIL  O'NEILL        xamo  Cloth  $i  50 


BOSS,"  whose  title  has  been  bestowed 
partly  in  jest,  is  the  editor  of  a  weekly  paper 
of  a  typical  village  in  the  Middle  West.  The  real 
hero  of  the  book  is  his  staunch  friend,  though  his 
rival  in  love.  The  story  is  told  by  the  friend,  who 
left  the  village  at  the  call  of  the  Civil  War,  returning 
as  Major  to  resume  his  law  practice  and  to  figure  in 
a  delightfully  told  romance.  The  humor  is  every 
where  present  and  of  a  very  high  order. 

SOME      PRE.SS      OPINIONS 

"  'The  Boss  of  Little  Arcady'  is  one  to  be  enjoyed  in 
every  page  for  its  genuine  humor,  its  sly  satire  without  a 
touch  of  malice,  and  the  story  of  love  and  friendship  which 
runs  through  it  and  ends  happily."  —  Cleveland  Plain  Dealer. 
"  'The  Boss  of  Little  Arcady'  is  clever,  with  a  cleverness 
that  is  not  forced,  and  with  a  crispness  that  seems  to  belong 
toit  and  which  has  the  flavor  of  spontaneity." 

—  Brooklyn  Ragle. 

"It  is  a  story  to  be  read  a  second  time;  if  not  wholly,  then 
in  part.  The  result  for  the  reader  is  one  of  the  best  things 
that  life  affords  —  a  book  that  delights,  quickens  the  sympa 
thies  and  revivifies  the  quiescent  good  in  one's  nature."  — 
Minneapolis  Journal. 

"Not  a  dull  line  in  it  from  cover  to  cover."  —  The  Advance, 
Chicago. 

"The  simpler  and  sweeter  things  of  life  hold  sway  in  Little 
Arcady  and  the  Boss  is  lovably  original."  —  Chicago 
Evening  Post. 

"Reading  this  story  is  like  living  among  people  whom  we 
have  known  at  some  time  or  other,  and  the  charm  of  the 
book  is  in  its  character  descriptions.  It  is  one  of  the  best 
novels  of  the  year."  —  Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Co.  &  Boston 


The  Captain 


By  CHURCHILL  WILLIAMS,  author  of  "J.  Devlin  — 
Boss."  Illustrated  by  A.  I.  Keller.  J2mo.  Dark  red 
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TVTHO  is  the  Captain  ?  thousands  of  readers  of  this  fine 
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of  scenes  and  characters  before  and  during  the  great  civil 
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}.  Devlin- -Boss 

A    ROMANCE    OF    AMERICAN    POLITICS.     Blue 
cloth,  decorative  cover.     J2mo.    Price,  $1.50. 


Mary  E.  Wilkins  says: 

"  I  am  delighted  with  your  book.  Of  all  the  first  novels, 
I  believe  yours  is  the  very  best.  The  novel  is  American 
to  the  core.  The  spirit  of  the  times  is  in  it.  It  is  inimita 
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except  a  real  novelist  could  have  written  it." 

Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Co.,  Boston 


Judith's   Garden 

By    MARY    E.   STONE    BASSETT 


"With  illustrations  in  color  by  George  Wright.  Text  printed 
in  two  colors  throughout,  with  special  ornamentation. 
8vo,  light  green  silk  cloth,  rough  edges,  gilt  top,  $1.50 


A  N  exquisite,  delicious,  charming  book, 
"^^  as  fresh  as  new-mown  hay,  as  fragrant 
as  the  odor  from  the  garden  of  the  gods. 
It  is  the  story  of  a  garden,  a  woman,  and  a 
man.  The  woman  is  delicate  and  refined, 
witty,  and  interesting;  the  man  is  Irish, 
funny,  original,  happy,  —  a  delicious  and 
perfect  foil  to  the  woman.  His  brogue  is 
stunning,  and  his  wit  infectious  and  fetching. 
The  garden  is  quite  all  right.  There  is  move 
ment  in  the  book ;  life  is  abundant,  and  it 
attracts.  It  will  catch  the  interest  of  every 
lover  of  flowers,  —  and  their  name  is  legion, 
—  and  will  delight  and  comfort  every  reader. 


Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Co.,  Boston 


The   Potter  and  the  Clay 

A  Romance  of  To-day 

By  MAUD  HOWARD  PETERSON.  Bound  in  felue  doth, 
decorative  cover,  rough  edges,  gilt  top.  Four  drawings  by 
Charlotte  Harding.  Size,  5x7^.  Price  $1.50 


ONE  of  the  strongest  and  most  forceful  of  re 
cent  novels,  now  attracting  marked  attention, 
and  already  one  of  the  most  successful  books  of 
the  present  yean  The  characters  are  unique, 
the  plot  is  puzzling,  and  the  action  is  remarkably 
vivid.  Readers  and  critics  alike  pronounce  it  a 
romance  of  rare  strength  and  beauty.  The  scenes 
are  laid  in  America,  Scotland,  and  India ;  and  one 
of  the  most  thrilling  and  pathetic  chapters  in  re 
cent  fiction  is  found  in  Trevelyan's  heroic  self- 
sacrifice  during  the  heart-rending  epidemic  of 
cholera  in  the  latter  country  The  story  through 
out  is  one  of  great  strength. 

Margaret    E.    Sangster :       "  From   the  opening  • 
chapter,  which  tugs  at  the  heart,  to  the  closef  J 
when  we  read  through  tears,  the  charm  of  the  \ 
book  never  flags.     It  is  not  for  one  season,  but 
of  abiding  human  interest." 

Minot  J.  Savage  :  "I  predict  tor  the  book  a  very 
large  sale,  and  for  the  authoress  brilliant  work 
in  the  future." 

Boston  Journal!  "  One  of  the  most  remarkable  books 
of  the  year,  Brilliant,  but  better  than  that, 

tender." 


Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Co.,  Boston 


MISS     BILLY 

A      NEIGHBORHOOD       STORY 


By   EDITH    K.    STOKELY    and    MARIAN    K.    KURD 

Illustrated  by   CHARLES   COPELAND 

i2mo   Cloth    1.50 


BILLY"  deserves  more  than  passing 
notice  in  these  days  of  civic  improvement. 
It  is  a  story  of  what  an  irrepressible  young  woman 
accomplished  in  the  neighborhood  into  which  her 
family  felt  obliged  to  move  for  financial  reasons. 
The  street  was  almost  as  unpromising  as  the  celebrated 
"  Cabbage  Patch."  and  its  characters  equally  inter 
esting  and  original.  The  happy  common-sense  of 
Miss  Billy  and  the  quaint  sayings  and  doings  of 
her  new  neighbors  form  a  capital  story. 

"The  story  abounds  in  humor  with  a  hint  of  tears  and  an  over 
flowing  kindness  of  heart  bubbling  over  in  infectious  gayety." 

—  Boston  Herald. 

"The   book   is   sure   to   have   an  immense  number  of  readers." 

—  St.  Louis  Star. 

t(The  plan  of  the  tale  is  original,  the  conversation  very  bright  and 
witty,    the    style   smooth,  and   the  characters  true  to  life." 

—  Boston    Transcript. 

ult  is  a  human  interest  story  which  appeals  to  the  heart,  and  at 
one  juncture  to  the  eyes  of  the  sympathetic  readers." 

—  Pitts  burg  Chronicle    Telegraph. 

"  'Miss  Billy'  is  a  charmingly  bright,  clever  little  story,  full  of 
spontaneous  humor  and  frankly  inspirational." 

—  Chicago  Daily  News. 

"This  is  an  ideal  story."  —  N.    Y.    Times. 

Eotbrop,  Cee  $  Shepard  go.  «  «  Boston 


YB  69003 


839601 


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